KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA
KWS’ Annual Shareholders’ Meeting adopts change in legal form and stock split
DGAP-News: KWS SAAT SE / Key word(s): AGM/EGM KWS’ Annual Shareholders’ Meeting adopts change in legal form and stock split Conversion to a partnership limited by shares – Supervisory Board elected – Stock split at a ratio of 1:5 in conjunction with a capital increase from company funds – Dividend of EUR3.20 – Guidance for fiscal 2018/2019 unchanged Einbeck, December 14, 2018. The shareholders of KWS SAAT SE (ISIN: DE0007074007) voted by clear majorities in favor of the proposals by the Executive and Supervisory Boards on all items on the agenda at today’s Annual Shareholders’ Meeting. As a result, KWS SAAT SE is expected to be converted to a partnership limited by shares, KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA, in the first quarter of 2019. The members of the current Supervisory Board were elected as shareholder representatives for KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA. A stock split was also adopted and means that shareholders will receive four additional new shares for each existing one. A dividend of EUR3.20 per old share will be paid out for fiscal 2017/2018. The guidance for the current fiscal year 2018/2019 has been retained without any changes. Although the venue for the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting was again Einbeck, for the first time it was not held on the company campus due to reconstruction work. Speaking before around 700 shareholders, the Executive Board and Supervisory Board explained the company’s performance in the past fiscal year and the items on the agenda that were to be put to a vote. “It was a lively debate. We’re delighted at the great level of approval, which shows that we were able to convince shareholders about our plans,” said Hagen Duenbostel, KWS’ Chief Executive Officer, about the adopted change in the company’s legal form. Into the future as KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA Eva Kienle, CFO of KWS SAAT SE, detailed the reasons for the planned change in legal form from the Executive Board’s perspective for the shareholders in attendance: Conversion to a partnership limited by shares will strengthen the company’s ability to raise funds, its growth opportunities and its position in the capital market, without it losing its character as a listed family business. There are no concrete takeover targets at present, she said, but the move created ideal conditions for KWS to respond more nimbly and flexibly to opportunities in the future by means of capital measures. At the same time, KWS would preserve and strengthen its identity by the fact that the shareholder families Büchting and Arend Oetker would hold a majority stake in the personally liable partner, KWS SE, which would take over management of KWS. Adoption of the resolution to change the legal form means that KWS SAAT SE will now be converted to KWS SAAT SE & Co KGaA when the change is entered in the commercial register, which is expected to be in the first quarter of 2019. The shareholders of KWS SAAT SE will automatically become limited partners of the new KGaA. The change of legal form will not result in liquidation of the existing company or formation of a new legal entity. The company’s legal and economic identity will be retained. New Supervisory Board elected Stock split at a ratio of 1:5 Dividend of EUR3.20, guidance for 2018/2019 unchanged About KWS1 You can find more information on the 2018 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting, as well as speeches and photos, at: https://www.kws.com/corp/en/company/investor-relations/annual-shareholder-meeting/
14.12.2018 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP – a service of EQS Group AG. |
Language: | English |
Company: | KWS SAAT SE |
Grimsehlstraße 31 | |
37555 Einbeck | |
Germany | |
Phone: | +49 (0)5561 311-0 |
Fax: | +49 (0)5561 311-322 |
E-mail: | info@kws.com |
Internet: | www.kws.de |
ISIN: | DE0007074007 |
WKN: | 707400 |
Indices: | S-DAX |
Listed: | Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard), Hanover; Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange |
End of News | DGAP News Service |