Varta delists from Frankfurt Stock Exchange

German battery maker Varta AG has announced that the capital reduction to zero and the simultaneous capital increase, which were planned as part of the company’s restructuring plan, took effect on March 11.

“As a result, the previous shareholders of the Company have left Varta AG without compensation due to the cancellation of the currently issued VARTA shares (“old shares”),” the company said in an announcement.

As the capital reduction to zero took effect, the company’s stocks were delisted from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

The manufacturer said that the old shares will be written off by the custodian institutions and Clearstream Banking AG in the following days.

Varta initiated a comprehensive restructuring concept in spring 2023, which among other measures, involved a termination of 800 full-time positions.

In June 2024, the company notified the competent local court in Stuttgart of its restructuring plans in accordance with the German Corporate Stabilization and Restructuring Act (StaRUG) in a bid to avert possible insolvency. 

In October 2024, the embattled battery maker secured EUR 60 million ($65.77 million) in equity capital from major shareholder Austrian investor Michael Tojner and sports car manufacturer Porsche, making a major step in its restructuring process.

The restructuring agreement, which Varta reached with its creditors, brought on Porsche as a majority stakeholder in Varta’s car battery subsidiary V4Drive Battery GmbH.

On March 1, Porsche acquired majority control of Varta’s V4Drive Battery subsidiary, which makes large-format lithium-ion cylindrical cells used in the performance hybrid drive of the Porsche 911 Carrera GTS. Varta will retain a minority stake in the unit with no operational influence, the car maker said in statement. To reflect the move, V4Drive will be rebranded V4Smart.

Varta was hit by lower-than-expected demand for electric vehicles and, when announcing its drastic restructuring plan, in April 2023, said it intended to expand its activity in the non e-mobility energy storage segment.

However, its expansion in the energy storage space has been slower than expected. In June 2024, the company revised its revenue forecast for fiscal year 2024 due to a “significant deterioration” in the energy storage market environment.