Leifheit AG: Leifheit majority remains under family ownership - sales discussions stopped, Chairman of the board of management, Georg Thaller, leaves the company

Leifheit majority remains under family ownership - sales discussions stopped

Nassau, 23 May 2013 - The families Schuler-Voith and Knapp-Voith will continue to hold their share of approximately 60% of Leifheit AG; the open-ended sales discussions, which began in December 2012, have now been stopped. The background of this is that, despite great interest from domestic and foreign investors, an agreement on a sale could not be reached due to differing opinions.

Helmut Zahn, chairman of the Leifheit AG supervisory board: 'The owners have not been under any pressure to sell from the start. Leifheit also remains an attractive investment with high development potential for us in the future.'

Chairman of the board of management, Georg Thaller, leaves the company

On 22 May 2013 the Leifheit AG supervisory board released the chairman of the board of management, Georg Thaller (53), from his duties with effect from 31 May 2013. The search for a successor has begun. In the interim the CFO, Dr Claus-Otto Zacharias (59), will lead the company as the sole managing director. The background of this decision is differing opinions on the future strategic alignment of the Leifheit group in individual issues.

Helmut Zahn, chairman of the Leifheit AG supervisory board: 'On behalf of the supervisory board I thank Mr Thaller for his commitment and work, which has helped to shape the positive development of Leifheit AG in the past three years. We wish Mr Thaller all the best and every success in his future career.'

Georg Thaller became the chairman of the board of management of Nassau-based Leifheit AG on 1 November 2009; on the board of management he was responsible for the sectors Sales, Marketing, Development, Legal/Patents and Auditing. Previously, Mr Thaller was spokesman for the management of the kitchen appliance producer Fissler GmbH. Consequently, under the management of Georg Thaller, Leifheit focused on the four core business areas of cleaning, laundry care, kitchens and wellbeing, and efficiency substantially increased; Group net results increased from EUR3.1 million (2009) to EUR9.4 million (2012).

About Leifheit

Founded in 1959, Leifheit AG is one of the leading European brand suppliers of household items. The company stands for high-quality, innovative products with great utility and pioneering design in the sectors of cleaning, laundry care, kitchen goods and wellbeing. Leifheit and Soehnle are among the best known brands in Germany. Other than in the Brand Business, Leifheit AG operates in the service-oriented Volume Business via its French subsidiaries Birambeau and Herby. Taking into account its international branches, the Leifheit Group has around 1,000 employees in total.