December 5, 2013
Fresenius Helios joins Rhön-Klinikum AG in defending against lawsuit filed by B. Braun
Fresenius Helios will join Rhön-Klinikum AG in defending against the lawsuit filed by B. Braun Melsungen AG on November 21, 2013, which seeks to void the agreement between Fresenius Helios and Rhön-Klinikum on the sale of 43 hospitals and 15 outpatient facilities.
The lawsuit is without merit: the Management and Supervisory Boards of Rhön-Klinikum were in full compliance with all relevant laws when they entered into the purchase agreement. Approval of the sale by a general meeting of shareholders is not required. Separate legal opinions, which were obtained independently by Rhön-Klinikum and Fresenius before the contract was signed, confirmed this unanimously.
Ulf Mark Schneider, CEO of Fresenius, said: "We believe the lawsuit has no merit, and we will fully support Rhön-Klinikum in defending against it. We still want to resolve this matter amicably. But for that to happen, all the parties concerned must be ready to accept a reasonable solution."
The lawsuit by B. Braun has no suspensive effect on the transaction, which will be completed as soon as approval is received from Germany's Federal Cartel Office.
Fresenius is a global health care group, providing products and services for dialysis, hospitals, and outpatient medical care. In 2012, Group sales were €19.3 billion. On September 30, 2013, the Fresenius Group had 175,249 employees worldwide.
For more information visit the Company's website at www.fresenius.com.
This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Future results could differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements due to certain factors, e.g. changes in business, economic and competitive conditions, regulatory reforms, results of clinical trials, foreign exchange rate fluctuations, uncertainties in litigation or investigative proceedings, and the availability of financing. Fresenius does not undertake any responsibility to update the forward-looking statements in this release.
Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA
Registered Office: Bad Homburg, Germany
Commercial Register: Amtsgericht Bad Homburg, HRB 11852
Chairman of the Supervisory Board: Dr. Gerd Krick
General Partner: Fresenius Management SE
Registered Office: Bad Homburg, Germany
Commercial Register: Amtsgericht Bad Homburg, HRB 11673
Management Board: Dr. Ulf M. Schneider (Chairman), Dr. Francesco De Meo, Dr. Jürgen Götz, Mats Henriksson, Rice Powell, Stephan Sturm, Dr. Ernst Wastler
Chairman of the Supervisory Board: Dr. Gerd Krick