Dürr AG — Capital/Financing Update 2005

Oct 31, 2005

News Details

Ad-hoc | 31 October 2005 20:34

Dürr AG:Dürr continues concentration on core business

Ad hoc announcement §15 WpHG Sale of MPT business unit Dürr AG:Dürr continues concentration on core business Ad hoc announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. —————————————————————————— Dürr continues concentration on core business and reaches another realignment milestone by selling MPT to HgCapital Stuttgart, October 31, 2005 – Dürr is continuing the concentration on its core business with the automotive industry. Dürr is focusing its activities on paint and assembly systems, mechanical engineering, and environmental technology. For that reason, the company has decided within the framework of the groupwide FOCUS program to sell the Measuring and Process Technologies (MPT) business unit. MPT primarily operates in the mining and basic materials sector and thus outside Dürr’s core area. Today, at 7:30 p.m., Dürr signed a contract to sell MPT to HgCapital, a private equity company. The buyer will further step up the business unit’s implemented growth strategy. The sale proceeds come to EUR 205 million and are to be received in cash by the end of 2005. The company expects book profit after transaction fees and taxes to amount to a double- digit million figure (EUR), but this will be set off by one-off expenditures arising from the restructuring in the framework of the FOCUS program. Dürr already disposed of a peripheral area at the end of September with the sale of the Development Test Systems business unit, which brought in EUR 27 million. Dürr is using the proceeds from divestments to increase innovation and earning power in its core business with the automotive industry. Restructuring measures are currently being carried out in the Paint and Assembly Systems division, incurring expenses of about EUR 40 to 50 million. Furthermore, financial debt is being reduced. Financial leverage (net debt to operating earnings) will improve substantially. Dürr expects the implemented FOCUS measures to lead to a significantly improved profitability and increasing cash flow in the future. After completion of the 18 month program, a pre-tax margin of 4% and an EBITDA margin of 8% are to be achieved in 2007. About MPT MPT is a supplier of systems and components for weighing, feeding, automating, and screening in industrial processes. It primarily supplies sectors such as mining, cement, steel, and chemicals. In 2004, MPT achieved sales revenue of about EUR 180 million with about 1,100 employees. MPT belonged to Dürr’s Measuring and Process Systems division, which will consist of the Balancing and Diagnostic Systems (Schenck RoTec) and the Cleaning and Filtration Systems (Dürr Ecoclean) business units after the sale of MPT. The Measuring and Process Systems division will generate annual sales of about EUR 300 million after the sale. About HgCapital HgCapital is one of Europe’s leading private equity investors with sector focus and manages fund assets amounting to EUR 1.3 billion. The group concentrates on investments of medium size, with volumes ranging from EUR 40 million to EUR 400 million. HgCapital has offices in London, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam. In Germany, HgCapital funds have acquired seven companies since 2003, including FTE Automotive, Hirschmann Electronics, W.E.T. Automotive, and Doc Morris. Those seven transactions add up to almost EUR 1 billion. Contact: Dürr AG Günter Dielmann Corporate Communications & Investor Relations Phone: +49 (0)711 136-1785 or +49 (0)711 136-1124 Fax: +49 (0)711 136-1716 E-mail: corpcom@durr.com Dürr Aktiengesellschaft Otto-Dürr-Strasse 8 70435 Stuttgart – Zuffenhausen Deutschland ISIN: DE0005565204 WKN: 556520 Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard) und Stuttgart; Freiverkehr in Berlin-Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg und Hannover End of ad hoc announcement (c)DGAP 31.10.2005 312034 Okt 05