DGAP-Adhoc: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG: Sale of Gallus Group to benpac holding ag not completed

DGAP-Ad-hoc: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG / Key word(s): Strategic Company Decision
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG: Sale of Gallus Group to benpac holding ag not completed

29-Jan-2021 / 18:03 CET/CEST
Disclosure of an inside information acc. to Article 17 MAR of the Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

The sale of the Gallus Group by Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) to the Swiss company benpac holding ag has not been completed. benpac holding ag did not make the purchase price payment of EUR 120 million agreed at today's closing, although all the necessary conditions were met. Heidelberg had to assume until the very end that the transaction would be completed successfully. Heidelberg will assert its rights.

The five sites and around 430 employees of the Gallus Group will remain with Heidelberg. Nothing will change for Gallus customers. Heidelberg will continue continue to handle sales and service for the Gallus portfolio and their personal contacts will remain the same. Heidelberg will now be examining various options for the corporate future of Gallus. In any case, Gallus will continue on its path to boosting operating performance: With an independent setup and specific focus on its flexographic printing market, Gallus made good operational progress last year under the Heidelberg umbrella.

Irrespective of the Gallus transaction, which has not been completed, Heidelberg is already benefiting considerably from the transformation program launched in the current 2020/21 financial year to further stabilize the company financially in the challenging COVID-19 environment and to align it in a future-proof manner in its profitable core business. Since March 2020, net debt has been reduced by more than EUR 250 million from a peak of EUR 390 million, and liquidity has been improved by around EUR 450 million. As a result of the accelerated M&A program, Heidelberg will generate proceeds in the mid-double-digit million euro range from the transactions completed in December 2020 alone.

The market remains challenging due to the currently worsening Covid 19 situation. Heidelberg is therefore systematically continuing its transformation course with the measures initiated for this purpose in order to create further financial scope. In operational terms, the third quarter of the current financial year saw a continuation of the upward trend in sales and incoming orders that has been ongoing since May 2020. Heidelberg continues to expect to achieve its targets for financial year 2020/21 (ending March 31, 2021).

Image material and further information about the company are available in the Investor Relations and Press Lounge of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG at
www.heidelberg.com.

Heidelberg IR now on Twitter:
Link to the IR Twitter channel: https://twitter.com/Heidelberg_IR
On Twitter under the name: @Heidelberg_IR

Further information:
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG

Corporate Communications
Thomas Fichtl
Phone: +49 6222 82-67123
Fax: +49 6222 82-67129
E-mail: [email protected]

Investor Relations
Robin Karpp
Phone: +49 6222 82-67120
Fax: +49 6222 82-99 67120
E-mail: [email protected]

Important note:

This press release contains forward-looking statements based on assumptions and estimations by the Management Board of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft. Even though the Management Board is of the opinion that those assumptions and estimations are realistic, the actual future development and results may deviate substantially from these forward-looking statements due to various factors, such as changes in the macro-economic situation, in the exchange rates, in the interest rates, and in the print media industry. Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft gives no warranty and does not assume liability for any damages in case the future development and the projected results do not correspond with the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

29-Jan-2021 CET/CEST The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.
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