B & C Industrieholding: tactics for players | Mechanical Engineering | sectors

From the ice cream vendor in front of Schönbrunn Castle to the self-proclaimed billionaire: Michael Tojner is always good for a story, even though the headlines have recently been subject to rather negative reactions: his Heumarkt tower is considered a threat to the Vienna's World Heritage and Airbnb apartments in social housing has not made a foothold. At the end of October, a new project from the Steyr native took over the commercial pages. "Tojner wants to pierce the foundations of Amag, Lenzing and Semperit", headlines the Viennese daily Der Standard. The dazzling investor is preparing to take over the B & C Private Foundation in collaboration with a group of highly reputable industrialists.

The private foundation B & C is the 100% parent company of B & C Industrieholding, which holds the majority of the three nets of the Austrian industrial landscape: 52.7% in Amag, 50%, 2 shares in Lenzing and 54.2% . Semperit. There are also smaller shares and holdings in technology companies and start-ups. The value of investments in B & C is particularly interesting for potential investors. In 2017, the three listed investments Amag, Semperit and Lenzing together distributed 118.5 million EUR to Austrian investors. An aliquot sank more than half to B & C. If we follow the media – Michael Tojner, who would not be shy by the way, never commented on the project in public and n & rsquo; Was not synonymous for INDUSTRIEMAGAZIN – the investor wants to transfer a total of 250 million, with UniCredit, the largest bar in the Austrian market. To resume the foundation of the industry. For this sum to be taken from the reserves of B & C Holding, Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Wolfgang Hofer calls forever "cheeky air". Wolfgang Hofer's interview as well as his personal badessment of the legal situation of the attempted takeover of the B & C Foundation can be read here.

If you hold in your hands a copy of the founding act of B & C, you will be disappointed as a layman. Only eleven pages regulate the legal character of an autonomous foundation which, as the largest shareholder in Austria, keeps 5,000 people in a situation of livelihood (15,000 in the world). The B & C Constitution resisted many external attempts to access the rights of the Foundation's shareholders in the 1990s. UniCredit, after the departure of Gerhard Randa, was primarily interested in regaining control of companies that were formerly part of the foundation. When this was unsuccessful, Milan decided to waive a subsidy of 1.2 billion euros on "subsidiary" subscription rights. Even in the auction carousel: Michael Tojner. He made his own offer – and did not come on the train.

The foundation charter that has proven itself is to become the lever with which Tojner wants to break the B & C foundation. According to reports, there is a preliminary contract with UniCredit in Milan, under which it makes the company the first one. shareholder of Bavarian Hypo- and Vereinsbank – the founder and wholly owned subsidiary of UniCredit. As such, he becomes a beneficiary in accordance with the founding act. Tojner argues that, since UniCredit has already waived the profit-sharing rights, it would not have to do so as a new beneficiary. The lawyers interviewed by INDUSTRY MAGAZINE consider this point of view interesting, but unsustainable: there is simply no legally binding claim, it is said.

Wolfgang Hofer, board member of B & C Foundation, believes that this precarious legal approach means that the Tojner group is not interested in a lawsuit. A legal settlement of the application takes a long time and binds many forces. The tactic is much simpler: "They want to make us moribund".

The "battle of titles" has already begun: the commissioning of the law firm Grohs Hofer (Hofer is a half-badociate) by the B & C is as important as the scope of the foundation and the the holding company, which has a total of 27 employees. The ÖBIB, which manages the public investments, come out with half, they say. The word "self-service store" will not be long to use at low threshold.

According to the annual report, the fees of the Supervisory Board of B & C Holding amounted to 150,000 euros in 2017. And the Hampel, Hofer and Fida Foundation Boards receive, according to the document, a "fair remuneration", which is fixed by the court of the commercial register. The lawyers of the foundation set the amount of the salary of a supervisory board. One thing is certain: the B & C board members and supervisory boards that sit are not altruistic missionaries to the national industry. But the legal fees, the founding salaries and the supervisory board fees are a real pipifax compared to the amounts that Tojner & Co wants to deduct.

The economic magazine "Trend" reports that Michael Tojner has badembled illustrious groups of investors in the "B & C Project": Stefan Pierer, president of KTM, Wolfgang Leitner, managing director of Andritz, Martin Ohneberg (Henn GmbH, President of the Federation of Austrian Industries of Vorarlberg) and Krone None of the people listed in an issue of INDUSTRIEMAGAZIN has been denounced, but their task remains unclear – without investments – B & C he himself will pay the price – investors are not necessary It is not badumed that the influential economic figures were taken into account only for the image and the political wind, in return, they earn a significant share of Profit sharing right, which until now in the holding has almost been fully reinvested.

Wolfgang Hofer announced during the interview with INDUSTRIEMAGAZIN that the bank relations of the B & C group with Bank Austria would be dissolved. A reliable financial partner is not viable in international affairs. The situation is therefore more than difficult for the Viennese subsidiary of UniCredit. He does not benefit in any way from the Milan alliance with Michael Tojner, but loses three major industrial customers. The Viennese bankers find themselves between the same presidents as their former boss, Erich Hampel, who, as chairman of the supervisory board of Bank Austria Austria and chairman of the board of directors of B & C, pleads in favor of 39, a real pool of conflicts of interest. On the founding board of B & C, he put all the voting and information rights dormant. He can not have a say and learns nothing. The Bank has not commented on how Bank Austria deals with the chairman of its supervisory board.