Schaltbau Group parts with share in Beijing Bode, China

Munich / Kassel, 02 December 2009 - Gebr. Bode GmbH & Co. KG, of Kassel, Germany, a wholly owned subsidiary of Schaltbau Holding AG, has sold its 49% share in Beijing Bode Transportation Equipment Co. Ltd., China, via its subsidiary Gebr. Bode & Co. Beteiligungs-GmbH. The buyer is Mr Chen Bingyu, owner of Bode's Chinese joint venture partner to date, Hebei Xinghua Agate Co. Ltd. The purchase price is greater than the carrying amount in the low single-digit million euro region and leads to an additional profit of around € 0.8 million or approximately 40 cents per share. The transaction still requires the formal approval of the Chinese authorities.

The Bode joint venture in China, which is based in Daxing near Beijing, achieved sales revenues of €11.0 million in 2008 and was included in the Group consolidated financial statements in accordance with the equity method. Beijing Bode has a workforce of 247 employees.

It was necessary to terminate the cooperation as it became apparent over a period of more than one year that no consensus could be achieved with the Chinese joint venture partner, either with regard to the company's strategic objectives or in terms of operational business. Bode was unable to exert the required degree of influence due to its minority shareholding. Further strategies on cultivating the Chinese market are currently being considered.

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Wolfdieter Bloch
Public Relations

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bloch@schaltbau.de