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Extraordinary General Meeting approves all proposals (16/12/2008)
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Shareholders of sia Abrasives give the go-ahead to join forces with Bosch
Shareholders at the Extraordinary General Meeting of sia Abrasives Holding AG held on 16 December 2008 approved all proposals put forward by the Board of Directors. By removing the 5% restriction on voting rights prescribed in the Articles of Association, shareholders of sia Abrasives Holding AG endorsed the Board's rationale for teaming up with Bosch. The General Meeting also appointed a new Board of Directors, which now comprises four representatives of Bosch and Peter A. Schifferle, already a director. .
The Extraordinary General Meeting of sia Abrasives Holding AG held at the Frauenfeld Stadtcasino on 16 December 2008 was attended by 257 shareholders holding 605,765 votes or 80.8% of the total registered shares entitled to vote. The General Meeting approved all proposals put forward by the Board of Directors.
Chairman of the Board, Peter A. Schifferle, commenced the meeting by reiterating the considerations that had firmly convinced him of the merits of joining forces with Bosch. In an overall assessment, the Board of Directors had come to the conclusion that partnering up with a world-class company like Bosch would reduce the risks and increase the opportunities associated with the growth targeted by sia Abrasives. Not only the foreseeable economic developments, but also the prospect of further globalisation of the industry have made it imperative to come to grips with a future filled with numerous uncertainties. Peter A. Schifferle: "Because of this, we are convinced that there could hardly be a better time than now for teaming up like this."
Removal of restriction on voting rights
The first item of business was to remove the previous 5% restriction on voting rights prescribed in the Articles of Association, which had become meaningless due to the new ownership structure of sia Abrasives Holding AG. By an overwhelming majority, the shareholders approved the necessary amendment to the Articles of Association, endorsing the Board's rationale for teaming up with Bosch.
Election and re-election of directors
In view of the takeover, the previous directors Hans-Ulrich Spiess, Dr. Martin Bernet, Ernst Kessler and Jürgen Rauen had tendered their resignations. Peter A. Schifferle expressed appreciation for the contribution made by the resigning directors and thanked them for their many years of valuable service. Urs B. Rinderknecht, Boris Gleissner, Bernhard Schuster and Max Siegmann were elected to the Board for the first time as representatives of the Bosch Group. Peter A. Schifferle will remain on the Board. His role will be to assist with the process of integrating sia Abrasives into the international Bosch Group.
The shareholders, who turned out in large numbers and also included many sia Abrasives employees, gave a warm round of applause at the end of the meeting to thank those responsible for securing the future of the company and its jobs with the resolutions passed at this meeting.
About the sia Group
The sia Group based in Frauenfeld ranks among the world's top three suppliers of flexible abrasives. It develops, manufactures and markets complete abrasive systems tailored to specific requirements and applications for surface preparation and finishing of all kinds. This commitment has made abrasive processes into true surface technologies. Employing some 1,150 people worldwide, sia Abrasives posted net sales of CHF 298 million and operating profit (EBIT) of CHF 30.3 million for 2007. sia Abrasives Holding AG is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and generates more than 90% of its sales outside Switzerland.
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