June 1, 2012
Andritz acquires stake in Schuler AG, Germany
Press release
International technology Group Andritz has acquired the 38.5% interest held by Schuler-Beteiligungen GmbH in publicly listed Schuler AG.
Andritz paid a？？20 (US$24.70) in cash per share. In addition, Andritz has announced a voluntary public takeover offer to the remaining shareholders for the outstanding 61.5% of Schuler AG's capital stock. Andritz is also offering the remaining shareholders of Schuler AG a？？20, or US$24.70 per share in cash.
Enforcement of the acquisition of Schuler-Beteiligungen GmbH's block of shares and the takeover offer can only go through upon approval of both transactions by the anti-trust authorities.
The Andritz Group is a globally leading supplier of plants, equipment and the production of animal feed and biomass pellets. It has a net cash position of approximately a？？1.3 billion, or US$1.6 billion as of the end of March 2012 and is thus able to acquire Schuler AG out of its own financial resources.
During the first six months of the current business year, Schuler was able to increase its sales substantially to a？？581 million, or US$717.36 million, an increase of 44% from the previous year. This is assisted by the current high investment activity in the automotive industry.