DGAP-News

AURELIUS publishes provisional figures for 2016 - Seite 2

Fiscal year 2016 characterized by eight company acquisitions and seven sales

AURELIUS Equity Opportunities acquired a total of eight Group entities in the 2016 fiscal year. Reuss-Seiffert & Hammerl, a manufacturer of consumables for the concrete construction industry, and Conaxess Trade, an exclusive distributor for consumer goods, were acquired effective January 1, 2016. The purchases of Calumet Photographic, a multi-channel retailer for all things related to photography, as well as Working Links, the leading provider of professional and social rehabilitation services in the UK, were carried out in June 2016. Four of the eight acquisitions were effected as part of the strategic add-on acquisitions to strengthen existing subsidiaries: The cloud business CMC (Colt Managed Cloud) of Colt Group S.A., the commercial activities of the Abelan Group, the British Hospital Group, and the BSB Group. Income from the reversal of negative goodwill from capital consolidation from the eight business acquisitions amounted to a total of EUR 69.7 million (2015: EUR 176.8 million).

"With four transactions completed by our subsidiary in the United Kingdom in 2016 alone, we have also established ourselves as a valuable partner in complex pan-European corporate spin-offs", says Dr. Dirk Markus, Chairman of the Executive Board of AURELIUS Equity Opportunities. "The broad regional positioning of our investments, and our presence in various markets offer good diversification and limit the risk for the combined group."

With a total of seven company sales, including fidelis HR, a provider for the outsourcing of human resource services, the Tavex Group, the Berentzen Group AG, and Dutch brightONE IT Services BV, income was generated in the 2016 fiscal year from sales in excess of the carrying amount of EUR 43.9 million (2015: EUR 29.4 million) as well as cash allocations in an amount considerably more than EUR 100 million.

Dividend proposal of EUR 2.00 per share, increase possible in the event of additional successful sales before the annual general meeting

The Executive Board will recommend to the Supervisory Board that the base dividend be raised once again to EUR 1.00 per share (prior year: EUR 0.90 per share) for the annual general meeting to be held on June 21, 2017, as well as the payment of a special dividend from the sales proceeds since the last annual general meeting in the amount of EUR 1.00 per share (prior year: EUR 1.55 per share). The amount of the special dividend would be increased correspondingly in the event of additional successful company sales before the 2017 annual general meeting.