Agreement between Ventizz and Bosch regarding sale of majority stake in ersol

Erfurt, 2 June 2008. Ventizz Capital Fund II LP, Wilmington/Delaware, USA, and its subsidiary Ventizz II Jersey Holding LP, Jersey, Channel Islands, (Ventizz) have informed the Management Board of ersol Solar Energy AG (ersol) that they have signed agreements with Robert Bosch GmbH (Bosch) regarding the sale of its holdings in ersol amounting to 50.45% of the share capital. The purchase price for the shares immediately sold, to be paid in cash, is € 546.4 million. This translates to a per-share price of € 101.0, which is 63.3% above the closing price of € 61.85 per share on Friday, 30 May 2008 and 68.3% above the weighted average price of ersol shares in XETRA® and trading floor system over the three months prior to the announcement of the transaction. The transaction is subject to the approval of the customary antitrust authorities.

Ventizz, a private equity fund that focuses on high-growth companies in the technology sector, acquired a holding in ersol in 2004 and finally became majority owner in 2005. “The Ventizz II fund has supported ersol during the set-up and rapid expansion stages. After becoming a major and profitable solar producer over the past four years with a current production capacity of 180 MWp, the sale to a long-term oriented industrial partner is the best option for ersol and the fund investors,” explains Dr. Helmut Vorndran, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of ersol AG and Management Board spokesman of Ventizz Capital Advisory AG, which has acted as a consultant to the fund for this transaction.

As a result of the sale of the holdings by Ventizz to Bosch, the latter will be submitting a public offer for the remaining ersol shares.

The Management Board of ersol AG welcomes the proposed transaction and considers Bosch to be an excellent partner for the continued successful development of the Thuringian photovoltaic company. ersol will profit from Bosch’s international position and expertise, which will enable it to open up new potential for itself. Bosch’s decision to realise its entry into the photovoltaics market with the acquisition of ersol can be seen as a special recognition of the achievements of the company and its employees.

“I have no doubt that ersol will continue its successful path with the new majority shareholder. My fellow board members and I are looking forward to working together with Bosch,” said Dr Claus Beneking, CEO of ersol Solar Energy AG. Beneking will be retiring from the Management Board of ersol AG in the next few months. However, he will remain closely associated with the company and continue to be available for some years as a consultant. “For personal reasons I myself will witness the new phase for only a short while as CEO. This is the right time to hand over the management of the company to the next generation. I am proud to have accompanied and helped to shape its development from a small solar cell manufacturer to an integrated photovoltaic group,” explained Beneking at the announcement of the transaction.

ersol Solar Energy AG
Wilhelm-Wolff-Str. 23
99099 Erfurt

Further information:
Sonja Teurezbacher
Phone: +49 361 2195-1130
Fax: +49 361 2195-1133
ir@ersol.de
www.ersol.de

About ersol

ersol Solar Energy AG produces and markets high-quality silicon-based photovoltaic products. The Group comprises the segments Silicon, Wafers, Solar Cells and Modules. With sales of € 160 million in financial year 2007, the Thuringia-based company is one of the leading players in the solar industry. Listed since 30 September 2005 on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the young ersol share had already been added to the TecDAX on 19 December 2005. The ersol Group currently has 1,000 employees.

The Company’s main goal is to establish itself even more strongly as a manufacturer of high quality silicon solar cells and to account for a disproportionate slice of the anticipated growth in the photovoltaic industry. To achieve this, ersol currently focuses on technologically demanding stages of the value chain for photovoltaic plants, and in particular on the production of wafers and solar cells. There are a number of pillars to the company’s supply of the raw material it needs, silicon. It is primarily secured by long-term delivery agreements with leading polysilicon manufacturers. In addition to this, the Company’s internal recycling capacities in the silicon area also make an important contribution. Silicon is processed in the Wafers segment. The monocrystalline wafers manufactured there are preliminary products for the manufacturing of highly-efficient silicon solar cells in the Solar Cells segment. Since early 2006 the company has been delivering a part of its solar cells for the production of solar modules to the joint venture Shanghai Electric Solar Energy Co. Ltd. (SESE) in which the ersol Group has a 35% holding. The sales of these and other photovoltaic modules are handled in part by the Modules business segment. In the future, this segment is expected to include the Company’s own module production, planned for 2009. ersol also develops silicon-saving thin-film technology in the Modules segment. For this purpose ersol has a production facility for silicon thin-film modules.


About the Bosch Group

The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. In the areas of automotive and industrial technology, consumer goods, and building technology, some 271,000 associates generated sales of 46.3 billion euros in fiscal 2007. The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its more than 300 subsidiaries and regional companies in roughly 50 countries. This worldwide development, manufacturing, and sales network is the foundation for further growth. Each year, Bosch spends more than 3 billion euros for research and development, and applies for over 3,000 patents worldwide. The company was set up in Stuttgart in 1886 by Robert Bosch (1861-1942) as “Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering.”

The special ownership structure of Robert Bosch GmbH guarantees the entrepreneurial freedom of the Bosch Group, making it possible for the company to plan over the long term and to undertake significant up-front investments in the safeguarding of its future. Ninety-two percent of the share capital of Robert Bosch GmbH is held by Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH, a charitable foundation. The majority of voting rights are held by Robert Bosch Industrietreuhand KG, an industrial trust. The entrepreneurial ownership functions are carried out by the trust. The remaining shares are held by the Bosch family and by Robert Bosch GmbH.
Additional information can be accessed at www.bosch.com and http://angebot.bosch.com

Journalist contact:
Dr. Christoph Zemelka, Tel.: +49-(0)711-811-6854

This release was published on openPR.