KTG Agrar increases its equity through the issue of 430,000 new shares
Investment in farmland and biogas production offers attractive growth opportunities
Hamburg, den 18 June 2009 – Substantial opportunities for growth exist in the production of agricultural commodities and biogas. To ensure that KTG Agrar AG [ISIN: DE000A0DN1J4] can make the most of these opportunities, the company’s Managing Board and Supervisory Board have today decided to make use of the authorised capital under section 6 of the company’s statutes and to carry out an ex-rights capital increase by issuing 430,000 new shares (approximately nine percent of the share capital). equinet AG has placed all 430,000 bearer shares with institutional investors at a price of EUR 12.70 per share by way of an accelerated bookbuilding procedure. This means that KTG Agrar, one of Europe’s leading agricultural producers, will obtain gross proceeds of about EUR 5.5 million from the issue. “The completion of this capital increase in the current environment demonstrates that investors are convinced of our prospects for the future,” said Wolfgang Bläsi, KTG Agrar’s CFO. The company’s solid and sustainable production methods as well as its continued profitable growth have played a key role in the process.
The KTG Group already reported a highly solid equity ratio even before the capital increase (36 percent as at 31 December 2008). This ratio will now be further improved as a result of the capital increase. KTG Agrar intends to invest the proceeds from the issue in continued profitable dynamic growth. The key objectives are to secure additional farmland in the long term through purchases and long-term leases particularly in eastern Germany and Lithuania as well as to double the production of biogas. Siegfried Hofreiter, CEO of KTG Agrar. “There remains a lot of potential both in growing produce and in producing environmentally friendly energy and we intend to capitalise on these opportunities.”
Once the capital increase has been entered into the companies’ registry, the company’s share capital will formally increase to EUR 5,160,000. The entry in the companies’ registry at the Hamburg local court will be applied for without delay. The new no-par-value shares carry a dividend entitlement starting 1 January 2009.