Potential investors include Porsche (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Berlin, 22 Jul - German battery maker Varta said it was in talks with potential new investors including luxury car maker Porsche as it seeks to restructure to avert insolvency.

The company has currently received two different proposals for a financial restructuring both aiming to provide liquidity, either as debt capital or as a combination of debt and equity, according to current estimates in a high two-digit million euro amount, to finance operational restructuring measures, significantly reduce the company's debt, and improve the equity ratio.

Both proposals provide for a simplified reduction of the company's registered share capital to zero in conjunction with a subsequent capital increase with the exclusion of subscription rights and the issue of new shares.

This would lead to the current shareholders leaving the company without compensation and to a delisting of the Varta shares. In addition, a significant debt haircut is planned for certain creditor groups and the deferral of remaining claims.

"As it is not predominantly likely that the respective capital measures envisaged in the restructuring project will achieve the necessary approval of the general shareholders' meeting (at least 75% of the share capital present), the restructuring project shall be implemented in accordance with the StaRUG (the German Corporate Stabilization and Restructuring Act)," Varta said.

"Since without implementation of the restructuring plans losses would be incurred that would consume the registered share capital of Varta AG, the management board of Varta AG will convene a general shareholders' meeting in accordance with section 92 of the German Stock Corporation Act on short notice. As a preventive measure, the management board will notify this shareholders' meeting of losses amounting to more than half of the registered share capital." The preparation, auditing and publication of the annual and consolidated financial statements of Varta will only be possible again once the implementation of the restructuring concept has been secured. Publication of the annual and consolidated financial statements for 2023 will therefore be delayed and cannot take place until the second half of August 2024 at the earliest.

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(RADIOCOR) 22-07-24 08:57:31 (0129) 5 NNNN