[Auto]Audi Annual General Meeting votes the transfer of the shares to Volkswagen AG

[SougarLord]

A more efficient division of labor and increased synergies as part of the skills reorganization within the Volkswagen Group. The Audi Annual General Meeting also votes to transfer all Audi shares to Volkswagen AG, which owns 99.64 percent of the share capital of Audi AG. The Board of Directors thanks the shareholders for their trust and loyalty. The planned structure aims to strengthen the role of the brand within the Volkswagen Group and enhance the Group's future competitiveness.

 

“The Volkswagen Group is consolidating all its strength. We position ourselves competitively within the Group, expanding synergies and scale variations to a new level, ”says Markus Duesmann, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Audi AG at this year's Audi Annual General Meeting.

 

                                                         

 

The Volkswagen Group and Audi AG have intensified their cooperation in recent years, for example by creating shared production plants or platforms and modules developed and used for the manufacture of mobile or electrified vehicles. Specifically, the foundations have been laid for the future of synergies with the joint development of software in the new Auto. Software-Organization and with the development of autonomous driving in the joint venture between the former Audi subsidiary, Autonomous Intelligent Driving GmbH, and ARGO AI. The Volkswagen Group aims to tackle the challenges of transformation even more effectively with optimized positioning and effective structures.

 

In this context, the Audi Annual General Meeting votes the transfer of the remaining shares of the brand to Volkswagen AG, which already owns 99.64 of the share capital of Audi AG. As the main shareholder of Audi AG, Volkswagen AG had submitted a request for transfer of shares on February 28, 2020; Later, on June 16, it specified the details of this request. In consideration for the transfer of the shares, Volkswagen AG set the cash compensation at € 1,551.53 for each Audi share. In the mandatory three-month period prior to the announcement of the share transfer request, the average share price was € 813.15. This means that the fixed cash compensation is approximately 90% higher than the average price. The adequacy of the operation was examined and confirmed by the independent audit firm Baker Tilly, chosen and appointed by the court.

 

"The market capitalization of 66.7 billion euros shows the ability to generate profits and the solvency presented by the brands of the Audi Group, its product portfolio and the company as a whole," says Arno Antlitz, chief financial officer of Audi AG, during the celebration of the Annual General Meeting. "These are very favorable conditions that put us in a leadership position to face the transformation in the long term."

 

In the context of the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Audi has reported falling sales and turnover, an operating loss in the first half of the year. Net liquidity remains at a very high level of 19.9 billion euros (at the end of December 2019: 21.8 billion euros). As part of responsible coronavirus crisis management, the company has focused on cost optimization and short-term investments. The aim is to guide Audi strategically and flexibly through this crisis without compromising its viability in the future. At the same time, Audi has kept core processes stable, for example in the areas of technical development and production. “Despite the crisis, we are not making decisions that affect the product and, therefore, we are not committed to our competitiveness in the future. We are focusing on synergies within the Volkswagen Group as a strategy that enables us to achieve our goals, ”says Antlitz.

 

“For us, the current crisis is also an opportunity for change, which is what we have decided to do. Now we will have the opportunity to follow new paths and demonstrate once again that we fulfill our motto "At the Forefront of Technology", added Markus Duesmann, CEO of the brand.

 

The transfer of shares also aims to underline the brand's slogan and reinforces Audi's role within the Volkswagen Group. As an engineer and chief executive officer of Audi, Markus Duesmann assumed leadership in Research and Development for the Group. From this position he is also in charge of the Group's software development, leading the recently founded Car Software-Organization, which will be based at the IN Campus of Ingolstadt, and which will increase the proportion of software development internally within the Volkswagen Group. , from the current 10 to 60 percent in 2025.

 

With the Artemis project, Audi accelerates the development of high-efficiency electric models. It is a comprehensive automotive ecosystem and a business model that spans the entire life cycle of a vehicle, and that defines the future of Audi's luxury class and premium positioning. The Artemis team will benefit from the high synergies of the Group and "will take advantage of the full potential of the technologies of Audi and the entire Volkswagen Group," says Duesmann. Audi will present its first vision in 2021, and the first series-production electric model resulting from the Artemis project will complement the Audi range in 2024.

 

Due to the current coronavirus pandemic, the 131st Annual General Meeting of Audi AG has been held for the first time virtually, to protect shareholders. Before the meeting, all of them had the opportunity to submit their questions electronically and exercise their right to vote through a specific online portal.