Schmolz+Bickenbach shareholders have approved the projected reduction of the company’s nominal share value and the change of name to Swiss Steel Holding.
At an extraordinary meeting on Monday, shareholders approved the reduction of nominal value per share from CHF 0.30 ($0.33) to CHF 0.15. The measure will serve to reduce the company’s accrued losses, the firm says in a statement seen by Kallanish.
The change of name from Schmolz+Bickenbach AG to Swiss Steel Holding AG, as proposed by the board of directors, was accepted by shareholders with 97.92% of votes represented. Originally, Schmolz+Bickenbach was a Düsseldorf-based distributor of mainly special bar quality steels. By a strategy of backward integration in the early 2000s, it acquired various mills, and eventually became more of a producer.
“After this turbulent year it was time for a change in many aspects and it’s the time to use the momentum to change the name,” says chairman Jens Alder. “The family of the founders has left the shareholder base, at which point this tradition is also coming to an end. We are on a transformation journey and are going ahead to reposition our group.”
