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Vienna, 10 March 2008 – The tradition-rich construction firm Kirchhoff (founded in 1925), together with its many subsidiaries and affiliate companies, is the Number 3 in road construction in Germany and market leader in Baden-Württemberg. In addition, Kirchhoff is successfully active with a large number of its own raw materials production and processing facilities as well as in the building construction and civil engineering segment. In the last few years, Kirchhoff has also made a name for itself both nationally and internationally in the modernisation and renovation of runways without interrupting airport operations. The company has a workforce of 1,600 employees who last year contributed to a (consolidated) output volume of over € 350 million.
For STRABAG SE, with an output volume of € 10.7 billion the Number 1 among Germany's construction companies, Baden-Württemberg has so far been a blank spot on the map. For this reason, the acquisition of the stake in the Kirchhoff Group represents an ideal addition with which STRABAG significantly boosts its market position in the German road construction segment. Kirchhoff is to maintain its independence and its brand name is to be retained and further expanded beyond Germany’s borders.
STRABAG SE CEO Hans Peter Haselsteiner was pleased with the successful deal: “We have long been acquainted with the tradition-rich company and have always admired it for its market position in the region. The fact that Kirchhoff is now a member of the STRABAG family makes us proud and enormously strengthens our competitive position on the German market. We are especially pleased that the Kirchhoff family will remain on board as co-owner and that their representatives will continue to provide their many years of experience on the supervisory board.”
The current and future chairman of the supervisory board of F. Kirchhoff AG, the Stuttgart-based lawyer Dr. Mark K. Binz, whose law firm led the negotiations that began in January on behalf of the Kirchhoff family and company, said: “In the past few weeks, we have held negotiations with several interested parties. With no other company were the synergy effects and the entrepreneurial sense of a partnership as great as with STRABAG. Furthermore, the management board of STRABAG placed great value on maintaining Kirchhoff as an independent company, keeping the existing management team and providing Kirchhoff with sufficient capital to allow it to finance its ambitious expansion plans both in Germany and abroad with its own means. The company can be expected to play in an entirely different league in just a few years’ time.”
The transaction has been agreed retroactively to 1 January 2008, pending approval by the competent cartel authorities.
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STRABAG SE is one of Europe’s leading construction groups. With nearly 60,000 employees, STRABAG expects to post revenue from construction work of around EUR 11 billion in the financial year 2007. From its core markets of Austria and Germany, STRABAG is present via its numerous subsidiaries in all countries of Eastern and South-East Europe, in selected markets in Western Europe and the Arabian Peninsula, as well as in Canada, Chile and India. STRABAG’s activities span the entire construction industry (Building Construction and Civil Engineering, Road Construction, Tunnelling) and cover the entire value-added chain in the field of construction. More information is available at www.strabag.com.
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