RAG Foundation

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RAG Foundation
logo
legal form Legal foundation under civil law
founding June 26, 2007
Seat eat
Chair Bernd Tönjes (CEO)
Jürgen-Johann Rupp, Bärbel Bergerhoff-Wodopia (Members of the Executive Board)
sales 474 million euros (2019)
Foundation capital 2 million euros in
assets: 18.7 billion euros (2019)
Employees 35 (2019)
Website www.rag-stiftung.de

The RAG-Stiftung was established on June 26, 2007 as a legal foundation under civil law with endowment capital of 2.0 million euros in order to manage the subsidized German hard coal mining industry and to secure the further development of today's Evonik Group. Recognition in accordance with Section 2 of the Foundation Act for the State of North Rhine-Westphalia took place on July 10, 2007.

Purpose and tasks

The purpose of the RAG Foundation is to adapt, control and support the German hard coal mining of RAG Aktiengesellschaft (formerly Ruhrkohle AG ) depending on the legal and other framework conditions for the end of subsidized mining of hard coal in Germany.

According to its statutes, the RAG-Stiftung also has the following tasks:

  • She is responsible for the financing of the perpetual tasks from the German hard coal mining of RAG Aktiengesellschaft: mine water management, polder measures and groundwater purification.
  • Another task of the RAG Foundation is to promote education, science and culture in the former mining regions on the Ruhr, Saar and Ibbenbüren, insofar as this is related to the German coal industry .

In the event of the foundation's dissolution, one third of the foundation's assets will go to the Federal Republic of Germany; the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Saarland must agree on the distribution of the remaining assets.

history

The federal government , the coal states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Saarland as well as RAG Aktiengesellschaft and IG BCE agreed in February 2007 in the form of a so-called "key point agreement" to withdraw from subsidized hard coal production by the end of 2018 . The agreement provided for a review of the end of the subsidized mining of hard coal by the German Bundestag in 2012. At the instigation of the RAG Group, in agreement with the federal government, the coal states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Saarland and the IG BCE, the RAG Foundation was established on June 26, 2007 and recognized by the Düsseldorf district government on July 10, 2007 .

On August 7, 2007, the previous shareholders of RAG Aktiengesellschaft ( E.ON , RWE , ThyssenKrupp AG and Société Nouvelle Sidéchar SARL) sold their shares to the RAG Foundation for one euro each. Three days later, the federal government passed the draft of the Coal Financing Act . In order to secure the financing of the perpetual costs, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saarland and the RAG Foundation signed the inheritance contract to cover the perpetual costs of the hard coal mining of RAG Aktiengesellschaft. In December 2007, the Hard Coal Financing Act came into force. At the same time, a control and profit and loss transfer agreement was concluded between the RAG-Stiftung and RAG Aktiengesellschaft. In addition, the RAG Foundation acquired Evonik Industries AG from RAG Aktiengesellschaft for a book value of approx. 1.2 billion euros and thus became the owner of the so-called white area of the former Ruhrkohle AG. In June 2008, the RAG-Stiftung sold 25.01 percent of Evonik's shares for 2.4 billion euros to CVC Capital Partners . At the end of 2013, the RAG Foundation had foundation assets of more than twelve billion euros. At the end of 2017, this had grown to around 15.3 billion euros.

During the founding phase a dispute arose over the chairmanship. Former Minister of Economics and then Evonik's executive board (at that time the company was still operating under the name RAG Beteiligungs AG), Werner Müller , who was favored by the SPD, was initially prevented by the CDU . Jürgen Rüttgers in particular , at that time CDU Prime Minister of the largest hard coal state North Rhine-Westphalia, spoke out against former or current politicians at the top of the foundation. In June 2007 the participants of the so-called coal summit in Berlin agreed on the former BP manager Wilhelm Bonse-Geuking as the founding chairman of the foundation.

From December 1, 2012 to May 24, 2018, Werner Müller was chairman of the RAG-Stiftung. At the same time, he also chaired the supervisory boards of Evonik Industries AG, RAG Aktiengesellschaft and DSK AG. According to his announcement in February 2018, he resigned his office on May 24, 2018 for health reasons. Werner Müller died on July 16, 2019.

In 2008, Bernd Tönjes was appointed as the new CEO of RAG Aktiengesellschaft . Evonik Industries AG went public in April 2013. On April 25, the share was first listed on the Frankfurt and Luxembourg stock exchanges. Three months later, the RAG-Stiftung took a 30% stake in Vivawest GmbH (housing provider in North Rhine-Westphalia).

Rz RSBG word and picture mark history RGB.jpg

In November 2017, the RAG Foundation and its subsidiary RAG AG moved into their new headquarters at the Zollverein UNESCO World Heritage Site in Essen. Half a year later, Bernd Tönjes moved to the RAG-Stiftung as chairman of the board. At the same time, Tönjes took over the function of chairman of the supervisory boards of Evonik Industries AG, RAG AG and RAG Deutsche Steinkohle AG.

In September 2018, the RAG-Stiftung successfully placed around 3.5% of the total issued Evonik shares in a direct sale, thus further withdrawing from its stake in the Essen-based specialty chemicals group. The foundation's share in Evonik is currently 58.9%.

On December 21, 2018, the Prosper-Haniel mine in Bottrop produced the last German hard coal. The era of hard coal mining in Germany was thus ended in a socially acceptable manner. The era of "post-mining" began in January 2019: for the first time, the RAG-Stiftung is financing the permanent "eternal tasks" in the hard coal regions.

On April 5, 2019, Jürgen Rupp, CFO of RAG AG since 2008, became the new CFO of the RAG-Stiftung. He succeeded Helmut Linssen, who left for reasons of age.

On February 27, 2020, a consortium led by Advent International , Cinven and the RAG-Stiftung bought Thyssenkrupp Elevator (the former elevator division of Thyssenkrupp ) for 17.2 billion euros .

Group structure

Below the RAG-Stiftung as the parent company, the group includes RAG AG (100% subsidiary), which takes care of the perpetual tasks of the German coal industry at the operational level and also pays for the contaminated sites (old shafts, mining damage), which are accounted for using the equity method in the specialty chemicals group Evonik (around 59%) included in the consolidated financial statements and the housing company Vivawest GmbH (40%), which was created in 2012 from the merger of Evonik Wohnen and THS .

In 2014, the RAG-Stiftung Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, an industrial holding company, was founded that primarily invests in companies whose products and services are of great importance for global changes in the areas of population development, climate change and new technologies. In 2019, the RAG-Stiftung Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH was converted into a European stock corporation and has been operating under the name RSBG SE ever since. RSBG SE sees itself as a long-term partner for medium-sized companies. Accordingly, the company is investing in successful medium-sized companies with a buy-and-build strategy.

literature

  • State Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia: buddy and coal . The state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia and Ruhrkohle 1946 to 2008, Düsseldorf 2009 ( online at landtag.nrw.de).
  • Wilhelm and Gertrude Hermann: The old mines on the Ruhr . Past and future of a key technology. With a catalog of the "life stories" of 477 mines. 6th edition, expanded to include an excursus according to p. 216 and updated in parts relating to energy policy. Verlag Langewiesche ( The Blue Books ), Königstein im Taunus 2008, ISBN 978-3-7845-6994-9 , p. 99 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ EU allows subsidies until 2018. In: FAZ.net. December 8, 2010, accessed December 8, 2010 .
  2. ↑ Articles of Association of the RAG Foundation of September 1, 2008. RAG Foundation, accessed on June 10, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Articles of Association of the RAG Foundation of September 1, 2008. RAG Foundation, accessed on June 10, 2019 .
  4. ↑ RAG Foundation officially sealed. In: Spiegel Online. July 11, 2007, accessed December 8, 2010 .
  5. ↑ British financial investor joins the former Ruhr coal. In: Spiegel Online. June 4, 2008, accessed December 8, 2010 .
  6. ↑ The foundation solution works. RAG Foundation, June 4, 2014, archived from the original on October 9, 2014 ; accessed on January 3, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Annual Report 2017. (PDF) RAG-Stiftung, p. 4 , archived from the original on September 21, 2018 ; accessed on January 3, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Bonse-Geuking becomes head of the foundation. In: manager magazin. June 13, 2007, accessed December 8, 2010 .
  9. ↑ Press releases from the RAG Foundation. Archived from the original on November 9, 2012 ; accessed on August 1, 2014 .
  10. ↑ Dr. Werner Müller resigns from office for health reasons. RAG Foundation, February 28, 2018, archived from the original on September 21, 2018 ; accessed on September 21, 2018 .
  11. ↑ On the death of Dr. Werner Müller. Retrieved November 14, 2019 .
  12. ↑ Bernd Tönjes appointed as the new chairman of the RAG-Stiftung. RAG-Stiftung, May 9, 2018, archived from the original on September 21, 2018 ; accessed on September 21, 2018 .
  13. ^ Portrait of Vivawest. Retrieved August 1, 2014 .
  14. ^ RAG Foundation: The milestones of the RAG Foundation. Retrieved November 14, 2019 .
  15. ^ RAG Foundation: The milestones of the RAG Foundation. Retrieved November 14, 2019 .
  16. ↑ RAG is getting rid of more Evonik shares. Retrieved January 14, 2020 .
  17. ^ The RAG Foundation: Tasks and Goals. Retrieved November 14, 2019 .
  18. ^ RAG Foundation: The milestones of the RAG Foundation. Retrieved November 14, 2019 .
  19. ↑ thyssenkrupp sells elevator business for € 17.2 billion to a bidding consortium led by Advent, Cinven and RAG-Stiftung. Retrieved April 24, 2020 .
  20. ^ Portrait of Vivawest. Retrieved August 1, 2014 .
  21. ↑ Participations of the RAG Foundation. Archived from the original on January 14, 2017 ; accessed on August 1, 2014 .