Key investor sells €60 m stake in Jenoptik

09 Apr 2014

Ergo Versicherungsgruppe, longstanding major shareholder of Jenoptik, cashes in 8.5% stake for €60 million.

Europe-wide insurance company Ergo Versicherungsgruppe, Düsseldorf, Germany, has sold its approximately 8.5 per cent stake in Jenoptik worth over €60 million to institutional investors in Germany and abroad.

On March 25, optics.org reported that Jenoptik’s shares were trading close to “decade-long highs” after the company had recently confirmed its expectations of solid growth this year.

Due to strong demand, the total of around 4.88 million shares in Jenoptik AG were all swiftly placed on the evening of April 2, 2014, at a price of €12.15 per share by means of an accelerated book building process. The sole bookrunner was UBS.

Ergo, which had held a stake in the company for over ten years, now holds no Jenoptik shares following the sale. "The very good work of the management had a positive effect on the share price development which we used for an exit. We are convinced that JENOPTIK AG will continue to succeed in the market with its business model," said Dr. Daniel von Borries, member of the Board of Management of ERGO and responsible for investments.

ECE Industriebeteiligungen and Thüringer Industriebeteiligungs remain the largest shareholders in Jenoptik with stakes of 14 percent and 11 percent, respectively.

Rüdiger Andreas Günther, Chief Financial Officer of JENOPTIK AG, commented,
"This successful and, above all, rapid placement showed us that investors are impressed by our economic strength, our medium-term objectives and our sustainable strategy.

"It demonstrates institutional investors’ confidence in Jenoptik. The widening of the shareholder base also gives us the opportunity to improve the tradability of the share and thus further improve its perception on the capital market."

An integrated optoelectronics group, Jenoptik has five divisions: Lasers & Material Processing, Optical Systems, Industrial Metrology, Traffic Solutions and Defense & Civil Systems. Its customers include companies in the semiconductor equipment manufacturing industry, automotive and automotive supplier industries, medical technology, security and defense technology and aerospace.

About the Author

Matthew Peach is a contributing editor to optics.org.