Leonardo Venture GmbH & Co. KGaA
euro adhoc: Leonardo Venture GmbH & Co. KGaA
Earnings Forecast
Write-downs
on portfolio lead to substantial loss at Leonardo Venture in 2008
Disclosure announcement transmitted by euro adhoc. The issuer is responsible for the content of this announcement.
Litigation & Regulations
19.11.2008
- Shareholdings in NanoCompound Holding AG and Rösler miniDaT GmbH written down in full - Supervisory Board preparing claim for damages against former managing directors - Publication of Q2 and Q3 figures on 15 December 2008
Leonardo Venture GmbH & Co. KGaA will perform depreciation on its portfolio to the amount of at least EUR 10.7 million. This is the result of an intensive review of the majority of the portfolio companies by the Supervisory Board and Steffen Paul, who was appointed authorized representative following the resignation of the two managing directors of Leonardo Venture Capital GmbH - Prof. Dr. Hans-Georg Köglmayr and Prof. Dr. Udo Wupperfeld.
The analysis of the shareholdings has revealed that the economic situation of the portfolio companies NanoCompound Holding AG and Rösler miniDaT GmbH requires that these shareholdings be written down in full. NanoCompound Holding AG has - in contrast to the reporting by the two former managing directors - massive problems with respect to the strategic and operative business development, which has led to a complete lack of liquidity. At Rösler miniDaT GmbH the analysis of the business model showed that the company has positioned itself as a pure sales organisation without internal technology development, which does not justify the previous valuation. Therefore a complete write-down of the shareholding has been decided.
Moreover, the supplemental analysis of the remaining shareholdings is about to be finished. However, there is a considerably lower need for depreciation expected. The results of this analysis will be published shortly.
The forthcoming write-downs on the portfolio will lead to a significant loss at Leonardo Venture GmbH & Co. KGaA in 2008.
As a consequence of the incorrect information on the value of individual shareholdings and their business development, as well as other serious misconduct in company management, the Supervisory Board has decided to file a claim for damages against the general partner Leonardo Venture Capital GmbH and the two former managing directors Prof. Dr. Hans-Georg Köglmayr and Prof. Dr. Udo Wupperfeld personally.
As a result of the comprehensive review of the portfolio and the time-consuming investigation of the breach of duty of the management of Leonardo Venture Capital GmbH, the dates for the publication of the 2008 half-year report and the report on the third quarter of 2008 have been postponed. The half-year report as well as the report on the third quarter will now be published on 15 December 2008. Further information on the current situation of the company, on the portfolio and on the outlook will be given in the quarterly reports. In addition, the 2008 annual general meeting will probably be postponed until the second half of February 2009. At the annual general meeting the Supervisory Board and the management will not only present the business figures, but will also discuss the future strategic orientation of the company in detail.
In addition to the analysis of the existing portfolio, the Supervisory Board and management of the company are currently examining promising investment options. The objective is that of getting Leonardo Venture back on course and conducting strategic reorientation by utilizing the current good market opportunities in the venture capital sector.
About Leonardo Venture GmbH & Co. KGaA Leonardo Venture is a Venture Capital financier that focuses on companies dealing in the areas of health and life quality enhancement in Germany and German speaking countries abroad. Leonardo Venture invests as an "early stage" financier with its own resources in companies. Thereby investing not only its capital but also providing its know how, contacts and its network.
end of announcement euro adhoc
Further inquiry note:
Sandra Schwarz
Telefon: +49 (0) 621 833 7515
E-Mail: schwarz@leonardoventure.de
Branche: Financial & Business Services
ISIN: DE0005878763
WKN: 587876
Börsen: Börse Frankfurt / regulated dealing/prime standard