Issue 21/2016 - SGL Group and Showa Denko sign an agreement for the sale of the graphite electrode business

SGL Group and Showa Denko sign a graphite electrode business sale agreement Recently, SGL Group (SGL) signed a graphite electrode sales agreement

with Showa Denko Co.
, Ltd.
(SDL).
The company agreed that the enterprise value (excluding cash and liabilities) after deducting standard debt items (mainly pensions and restructuring reserves) would be EUR 350 million, which would generate cash income
of at least EUR 200 million for SGL Group.
But the final earnings will depend on the balance sheet
at the close of the transaction.
The transaction will be concluded
in accordance with customary closing conditions, in particular those relating to antitrust approvals.
The transaction is expected to close
in the first half of 2017.

Dr.
Jürgen Köhler, CEO of SGL Group, said: "Showa Denko is the ideal acquirer for
our graphite electrode business.
Both companies have a high reputation in the market and attach great importance to product quality
.
The business combination will be more conducive to serving
customers on a global scale.
This transaction is an important milestone
in our strategic restructuring journey.
In the future, the Group will concentrate its resources exclusively on our growth areas, namely the Fibers & Composites and Graphite Materials & Systems business units
, which benefit from mobility power, energy supply and digitalization megatrends.
After
the completion of this transaction, SGL Group's graphite electrodes business at six production sites in Germany, Austria, Spain, the USA and Malaysia and around 900 employees will be transferred to Showa
Denko.