The auto parts supplier Leoni, which is in financial difficulties, seeks help from an experienced renovator. The Nuremberg company, which specializes in on-board systems, announced on Monday that the supervisory board had appointed the restructuring expert Hans-Joachim Ziems to the board.
Ziems had already helped Leoni in a difficult situation in 2020 and 2021. The listed group of companies, which employs around 100,000 people in 28 countries and achieved group sales of 5.1 billion euros in 2021, received a state guarantee of 330 million euros at the time, among other things.
For Leoni it was December last year a sale of his cable division to the Thai Stark Corporation, which had already been believed to be certain, fell through. The sale should have flushed around 400 million euros into the coffers. Leoni’s financing concept agreed with the creditor banks already included this sum, which was primarily intended for debt repayment.
Leoni accuses the Thai group of companies of breach of contract. Notwithstanding the terms already negotiated, the potential buyer had made unacceptable terms at the last moment before the final signing.
New financing concept
Most recently, the Franconian automotive supplier’s business had suffered primarily due to problems in the procurement of semiconductors. In the first nine months of 2022, a loss of 88 million euros was generated with sales of 2.84 billion euros, which were five percent lower than in the same period of the previous year.
Together with Ziems and the banks involved, a financing concept is to be developed that is adapted to the new situation, it was said on Monday. “It’s no secret that we are facing a few special months,” said Klaus Rinnerberger, head of the Leoni supervisory board.