by Attorney-at-law Martin Arendts, M.B.L.-HSG
In the proceedings on the merger squeeze-out at the traditional company WMF AG, the County Court of Stuttgart (Landgericht Stuttgart) heard the case on 17 January 2017 and questioned the expert auditors. The court expressed doubts about the company value for the squeeze-out of only just over EUR 800 m, after WMF was sold by the private equity investor KKR shortly afterwards for approximately EUR 1.6 billion (and thus almost double the amount) to the French company SEB (see: http://spruchverfahren.blogspot.de/2017/01/spruchverfahren-wmf-ag-deutliche.html).
In accordance with these already expressed doubts, the court has now, by order of the presiding judge, Schmidt, ordered a written expert opinion to be obtained. Certified public accountant Ulrich Frizlen, Bansbach GmbH, 70184 Stuttgart, was commissioned to carry out the assessment. This is intended, inter alia. to determine whether the "jump in value" from the EUR 815 million to EUR 1.585 billion had already been rooted at the valuation date (20 January 2015).
The main shareholder, formerly known as Finedining Capital AG and part of the KKR Group, had offered a cash compensation of EUR 58.37 per ordinary share and preference share of WMF AG, http://spruchverfahren.blogspot.de/2015/03/bekanntmachung-uber-die-barabfindung.html.
In the proceedings on the merger squeeze-out at the traditional company WMF AG, the County Court of Stuttgart (Landgericht Stuttgart) heard the case on 17 January 2017 and questioned the expert auditors. The court expressed doubts about the company value for the squeeze-out of only just over EUR 800 m, after WMF was sold by the private equity investor KKR shortly afterwards for approximately EUR 1.6 billion (and thus almost double the amount) to the French company SEB (see: http://spruchverfahren.blogspot.de/2017/01/spruchverfahren-wmf-ag-deutliche.html).
In accordance with these already expressed doubts, the court has now, by order of the presiding judge, Schmidt, ordered a written expert opinion to be obtained. Certified public accountant Ulrich Frizlen, Bansbach GmbH, 70184 Stuttgart, was commissioned to carry out the assessment. This is intended, inter alia. to determine whether the "jump in value" from the EUR 815 million to EUR 1.585 billion had already been rooted at the valuation date (20 January 2015).
The main shareholder, formerly known as Finedining Capital AG and part of the KKR Group, had offered a cash compensation of EUR 58.37 per ordinary share and preference share of WMF AG, http://spruchverfahren.blogspot.de/2015/03/bekanntmachung-uber-die-barabfindung.html.
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