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
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*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)