Gigaset
| Gigaset AG
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| legal form | Corporation |
| ISIN | DE0005156004 |
| founding | January 26, 1900 |
| Seat |
Bocholt , Germany
|
| management | Klaus Weßing, Chairman of the Board of Management Bernhard Riedel, Chairman of the Supervisory Board |
| Number of employees | 895 (2019) |
| sales | 257.9 million euros (2019) |
| Branch | Manufacture and sale of telecommunications equipment |
| Website | www.gigaset.com |
| As of December 31, 2019 | |
The Gigaset AG is a listed manufacturer of mobile communication devices and smart home appliances; the operative activities are carried out through the subsidiary Gigaset Communications . The company operated under the name Arques Industries until 2010 and originally operated as an investment company . In 2015, the company achieved a turnover of 305 million euros and employed 1,366 people worldwide. In 2017, sales were 293.30 million euros with 930 employees.
In May 2018, Gigaset announced that it would be the first manufacturer to produce mobile devices in Germany again in 10 years at a location in Bocholt in the Münsterland region.
At a general meeting in mid-2020, a decision was made to move Gigaset AG's headquarters from Munich to Bocholt with 99.86% of the shareholders' votes.
background
Gigaset was originally a brand of Siemens Home and Office Communication Devices . This business area was sold by Siemens as Gigaset Communications and acquired by Arques or Arques Industries , the predecessor of the current Gigaset AG. After this purchase, Arques decided in 2010 to give up the investment business and establish the production and sale of telecommunications equipment as the company's purpose. In the course of this, the former Arques was renamed into today's Gigaset AG.
history
AG Bad Salzschlirf
On January 26, 1900, Hermann Vollrath founded the Bad Salzschlirf corporation , which took over the entire spa business in the Bad Salzschlirf health resort, which had existed since 1838, for 1.25 million marks . In addition, the AG Bad Salzschlirf took over authorizations for springs and mines , filled water from the Salzschlirfer Bonifatiusbrunnen and sold, among other things, mineral water and lemonades from the Bad Salzschlirfer springs. The company issued shares with a nominal value of 100 and 1,000 marks. Regular bathing ended at the beginning of the war in 1939. The three spa hotels of the AG Bad Salzschlirf were confiscated and from then on served as a hospital for wounded soldiers. In 1949 they were initially quarters for the occupation troops before they returned to the Bad Salzschlirf AG a year later.
The cost containment law combined with mismanagement brought AG Bad Salzschlirf into financial difficulties, so that at the beginning of the 90s they had to part with 300 employees, sell three baths, the mineral fountain and the mud bath house and close a spa hotel. However, this was enough to reduce the losses, which is why the AG Bad Salzschlirf, which, according to the then chairman Friedrich Kramer had developed in recent years more and more to the loss-making real estate company, on 7 February 2001 due to insolvency had to file for bankruptcy. Major shareholders at the time were around 45 percent of the Fulda district , around 25 percent of the Landesbank Baden-Württemberg and around 11 percent of the Retzmann family. As of July 31, 2001, all employees were given notice and the real estate still owned by the company began to be sold. The municipality of Bad Salzschlirf took over the spa business with the help of some investor groups. The investor Peter Löw and the Buchanan Group of the investor Steven Wilkinson submitted a takeover offer for the remaining shell of the stock market at 32.60 euros per share, which was well below the then quotation. By the end of the offer period on July 31, 2002, they had controlled 83 percent of the capital.
Arques Industries
On June 24, 2002, the AG Bad Salzschlirf called a general meeting at which the new business purpose and the new company name Arques were presented, which, according to Löw, was based on the Spanish word for arches ( arcos ). The new business purpose was to invest in medium-sized companies in need of restructuring with the aim of selling them after restructuring and realignment. In this context, Arques acquired the Siemens Home and Office Communication Devices division from Siemens in 2008 for 45 million euros. A dispute arose with Siemens because of outstanding payments in the specified amount and guarantees of 15 million euros. In the course of this legal dispute, Siemens filed a fraud complaint, which led to a house search on the premises of Arques Industries. The litigation eventually ended in a settlement.
Gigaset AG
In 2010 Arques Industries changed its name to Gigaset. The company finally sold all of its holdings with the exception of the two subsidiaries Gigaset Communications (telephones) and SM Electronic (satellite receivers).
New major shareholder
At the end of September 2013, Gigaset announced a capital increase by issuing shares and issuing a convertible bond, which the Chinese investor Pan Sutong subscribed to (through his vehicle Goldin Fund), so that after the capital increase was completed at the end of October, he held 24% of the capital of Gigaset; In an investor agreement, Goldin Fund has committed to Gigaset to make an offer to acquire all shares in the company (takeover offer) after the capital increase. Investor Pan Sutong now owns 85% of the shares in Gigaset AG and is therefore the main owner. In addition, the investor agreement contains regulations on capital measures for the establishment of a new business area for tablet computers, smartphones and other mobile communication devices.
In January 2014, SM Elektronic was the last subsidiary to be sold outside of the telecommunications sector.
In November 2015 it became known that Gigaset wanted to part with 550 employees. Pan Sutong wanted to establish Gigaset as a smartphone manufacturer and therefore had the Gigaset trademark rights for 29 million euros transferred to itself in September 2015. Pan Sutong did not pay the purchase price immediately, which is why the whereabouts of the trademark rights remained unclear for the time being. Gigaset only has a 15 percent stake in the Singaporean mailbox company that manufactures Gigaset smartphones; the remaining 85 percent belong directly to Pan Sutong. The profit from the smartphones therefore does not go directly to Gigaset, but to this mailbox company controlled by Sutong.
On 16 December 2015, the Supervisory Board appointed the Chief Executive Officer Charles Fränkl and CFO Kai spike with immediate effect, and ordered a new CEO the previous plant manager of the Gigaset phone production in Bocholt Klaus Wessing, and at the Office of the Chief Financial Officer startups managers make Hans-Henning Doerr. The reason is assumed to be differences of opinion between the two former board members and the major shareholder Pan Sutong.
Sponsorship
Since July 9, 2015, Gigaset Mobile, controlled by Sutong, the joint venture with Gigaset AG, in which the AG holds a 15% stake, has been an official platinum partner of FC Bayern Munich. The aim of the sponsorship is to promote the sales of the Gigaset ME smartphone line. Sutong pays 5 million euros annually for this sponsorship agreement.
Production in Germany
In May 2018, it became known that Gigaset will be producing a mobile device, in this case a smartphone , in Germany for the first time in 10 years and will be relocating production from China to Germany. A three-shift operation with 8 employees each and production of up to 6000 smartphones per week is planned. Thanks to a high level of automation, this should be possible at costs comparable to those in Asia.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Annual Report 2019. (PDF) In: gigaset.com. Retrieved July 29, 2020 .
- ↑ Gigaset.com: Annual Report 2014 (PDF; 2.2 MB)
- ↑ Annual reports . Gigaset, accessed on May 30, 2018 .
- ↑ Former Siemens subsidiary: Gigaset is again producing smartphones in Germany. Handelsblatt, May 29, 2018, accessed on May 30, 2018 .
- ↑ Former Siemens division Gigaset wants to build smartphones. January 19, 2015, accessed February 24, 2015 .
- ↑ Capital increase with subscription rights and convertible bond with subscription rights resolved - Backstop investor is available subject to the condition that a 30% stake is acquired - Takeover offer expected. Gigaset AG, September 27, 2013, accessed on October 29, 2013 (ad hoc announcement).
- ↑ Gigaset AG: Release according to Article 26, Section 1 of the WpHG with the aim of Europe-wide distribution. October 25, 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2013 .
- ↑ Stefan Zuber: Gigaset sells SM Electronic. Gigaset AG, January 22, 2014, accessed on April 23, 2014 (press release).
- ↑ Christoph Giesen: Gigaset: mass layoffs here, FC Bayern party there. In: sueddeutsche.de . December 4, 2015, accessed October 13, 2018 .
- ↑ Stuttgarter Zeitung, Stuttgart Germany: Telephone manufacturers in crisis: Restless Christmas at Gigaset. Retrieved April 13, 2019 .
- ↑ Gigaset AG appoints new Executive Board | Gigaset. Retrieved April 13, 2019 .
- ↑ - ( Memento of the original from December 19, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Thomas Heuzeroth: Now there is the first smartphone “Made in Germany”. Die Welt, May 29, 2018, accessed May 31, 2018 .
