DGAP-News: KION GROUP AG / Key word(s): Capital Increase 
Capital increase: KION Group aims to accelerate growth after the COVID-19 
pandemic (news with additional features) 
 
2020-11-18 / 21:38 
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. 
 
_NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION, PUBLICATION, OR FORWARDING - EITHER INDIRECTLY OR 
DIRECTLY - IN OR WITHIN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, 
JAPAN, OR ANY OTHER COUNTRIES IN WHICH SUCH PUBLICATION MAY BE UNLAWFUL_ 
 
*Capital increase: KION Group aims to accelerate growth after the COVID-19 
pandemic * 
 
- *The KION Group resolved to increase its share capital by way of a rights 
issue against cash contributions* 
 
*- Issue proceeds intended to strengthen the KION Group's financial position 
and provide comprehensive support for growth under the KION 2027 strategy* 
 
- 13,108,647 newshares equivalent to approximately 11% of the current share 
capital to be offered to the shareholders of KION GROUP AG as part of a 
rights issue at a ratio of one new share for every nine existing shares 
 
*- Strategic shareholder Weichai Power (Luxembourg) Holding S.à r.l. has 
undertaken to fully exercise its subscription rights in line with its equity 
investment and to acquire 5,934,520 new shares* 
 
*- Subscription offer period to run from November 20 through December 3, 
2020* 
 
- Any new shares not subscribed for are to be offered to institutional 
investors in an accelerated placement process 
 
Frankfurt am Main, November 18, 2020 - The KION Group is taking another step 
with a view to strengthen its financial position and flexibility and 
preparing the Group for accelerated growth under its KION 2027 strategy 
after the COVID-19 pandemic. With the consent of the Supervisory Board, the 
Executive Board of KION GROUP AG today therefore decided to increase the 
company's share capital by way of a rights issue against cash contributions, 
using a large part of its authorized capital. 
 
The proceeds from this capital increase against cash contributions are 
initially to be used to reduce the Group's level of debt. Once it has 
received the proceeds from the offering, the Group also expects to terminate 
the syndicated revolving credit facility that it agreed with its core group 
of banks under the participation of Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) in 
May of this year in order to bridge the current exceptional circumstances. 
 
Gordon Riske, CEO of KION GROUP AG, says: "By raising our capital by just 
over 11%, with the full support of our strategic shareholder, we further 
solidify our balance sheet and put ourselves in a strong position to capture 
the opportunities created by the rapid change in our end-markets. The 
capital increase is aiming to enable KION to execute its strategy of 
profitable growth on an even stronger basis including investing into 
expansion in China, new product development, focus on software solutions as 
a differentiating factor as well as continued efforts to improve 
performance." 
 
"The KION 2027 strategy is proving its worth in the current situation. 
Despite the difficult economic conditions resulting from the pandemic, our 
order intake was higher than in the prior-year period," says Anke Groth, CFO 
of KION GROUP AG, commenting on the results published for the first nine 
months of this year. KION 2027, she adds, is the right approach to continue 
generating growth in the future and improving the Group's profitability over 
the long term. "In an environment that will initially still be shaped by the 
adverse economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic for some time, our goal is 
to operate proactively from a strengthened financial position so that we can 
systematically drive forward and expand the strategic development of our 
business activities. We want to secure our share of the expected prospects 
of our markets after the COVID-19 pandemic and actively prepare for future 
growth early on." The long-term growth prospects of the Group are supported 
by its global reach, a consistent focus on its strong service business, the 
sustained boom in e-commerce, and its SCS project business for automated 
solutions for global supply chains that is driven by favorable global 
megatrends and increasingly demanding customer expectations. 
 
Subject to approval by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority 
(BaFin) and subsequent publication of a securities prospectus in relation to 
the public offering in Germany, which are both expected for November 19, 
2020, the new shares will be offered to the shareholders of KION GROUP AG 
(subject to certain restrictions) as part of a rights issue for subscription 
in the period from November 20 through December 3, 2020. The new shares will 
be offered at a ratio of one to nine; i.e. at a ratio of one new share for 
every nine existing shares at the subscription price. 
 
A total of 13,108,647 new shares are to be offered. Weichai Power has 
contractually agreed to fully exercise the subscription rights that it is 
entitled to as the Group' s major shareholder and to acquire 5,934,520 new 
shares. 
 
The Executive Board expects to determine the subscription price with the 
approval of the Supervisory Board on November 30, 2020. 
 
The transaction comprises a subscription offer to existing shareholders for 
the new shares (subject to certain restrictions) and an offer in which any 
offered shares remaining unsubscribed in the subscription offer may be 
placed with qualified institutional investors at a price at least equivalent 
to the subscription price. The transaction includes private placements with 
qualified institutional investors in accordance with the applicable 
securities legislation. There will be no public offering outside Germany, 
and the prospectus in relation to the public offering in Germany will not be 
otherwise approved by any regulatory body in the United States of America 
("USA"). The offering outside Germany will be subject to certain 
restrictions, including that the new shares will only be offered outside the 
USA in offshore transactions in reliance on Regulation S under the U.S. 
Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") and in the 
USA to investors believed to be qualified institutional buyers pursuant to 
Rule 144A under the Securities Act. 
 
Any shares remaining unsubscribed are expected to be offered exclusively to 
qualified institutional investors by way of an accelerated bookbuilding on 
December 4, 2020. The final size of the capital increase against cash 
contributions, and thus the issue proceeds, will be determined by the 
Executive Board with the approval of the Supervisory Board after completion 
of the potential bookbuilding and is expected to be announced on December 4, 
2020. 
 
The new shares are expected to be admitted to trading on December 7, 2020 
and to be included in the existing quotation in the sub-segment of the 
Regulated Market with additional post-admission obligations (Prime Standard) 
of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on December 8, 2020. The new shares will 
carry full dividend rights as from January 1, 2020. 
 
The Company 
 
The KION Group is one of the world's leading providers of industrial trucks 
and supply chain solutions. Its portfolio encompasses industrial trucks, 
such as forklift trucks and warehouse equipment, as well as integrated 
automation technology and software solutions for the optimization of supply 
chains, including all related services. Across more than 100 countries 
worldwide, the KION Group's solutions improve the flow of material and 
information within factories, warehouses, and distribution centers. The KION 
Group, which is included in the MDAX, is the largest manufacturer of 
industrial trucks in Europe and the second largest worldwide in terms of 
units sold in 2019. It is also a leading provider of warehouse automation 
based on revenue in 2019. 
 
The KION Group's world-renowned brands are well established. Measured by 
revenue in 2019, Dematic - the newest addition to the KION Group - is the 
global leader in warehouse automation, providing a broad range of 
intelligent supply chain and automation solutions. The Linde and STILL 
brands serve the premium industrial truck segment. Baoli focuses on 
industrial trucks in the value segment. Among KION's regional industrial 
truck brand companies, Fenwick is the leading material handling supplier in 
France. 
 
With an installed base of more than 1.5 million industrial trucks and over 
6,000 installed systems, the KION Group's customers include companies of 
various sizes in numerous industries on six continents. The Group currently 
has more than 35,000 employees and generated revenue of &euro8.8 billion in 
2019. 
 
_Current KION Group images can be found in our image database at 
_https://mediacenter.kiongroup.com/categories [1] _and on the websites of 
our various brands_. 
 
(fgr) 
 
Disclaimer 
 
This publication is not an offer or a solicitation to buy or subscribe to 
securities in the United States of America ('USA'), in Australia, Canada, 
Japan, or other jurisdictions in which an offer is prohibited by law. 
 
This publication and the information contained herein are for information 
purposes only and do not constitute a prospectus nor do they contain an 
offer to sell securities in the USA or a solicitation of an offer to buy 
securities in the USA. None of the securities referred to herein have been 
nor will they be registered in accordance with the provisions of the U.S. 
Securities Act of 1933, as amended ('U.S. Securities Act') or in accordance 
with the applicable laws in any federal state of the United States of 
America. Without such registration, these securities may not be offered, 
sold, or in any other way transferred, with the exception of securities that 
are offered and sold pursuant to an exemption from the registration 
requirements of the U.S. Securities Act. If a public offer of securities 
were to take place in the USA, this would be carried out by means of a 
prospectus approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the 

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November 18, 2020 15:38 ET (20:38 GMT)