TÜV Rheinland and TÜV SÜD Plan Merger
COLOGNE and MUNICH, GERMANY; NEWTOWN, CT, February 15, 2008
TÜV Rheinland
Holding AG and TÜV SÜD AG plan to merge into an
international technical services group with the core
competencies testing, inspection, certification, and
training. The merger of the supporting associations and
subsequent consolidation of the two groups is scheduled
before the end of the year.
The new company
would employ about 25,000 people worldwide and achieve sales
of more than EUR 2.2 billion. This was announced by the CEOs
of TÜV Rheinland and TÜV SÜD, Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Bruno O.
Braun and Dr.-Ing. Axel Stepken at joint press conferences
in DÜsseldorf and Munich on Feb. 13. The project is subject
to approval by the responsible antitrust authorities and the
relevant committees of the associations and the groups.
"An international
company with a strong German brand, providing economic added
value to its customers through neutral testing and
certification of quality and safety, is becoming even
stronger internationally," said Prof. Braun. "The merger
gives us significantly greater international capability and
reach. We will become even more attractive as an employer
for qualified specialists and managers."
The CEO of TÜV SÜD,
Dr. Stepken, said, "This merger is about international
growth. Through the planned merger, we are creating one of
the biggest and most efficient groups for testing and
certification, both nationally and internationally. Already
today, significant shares of the sales of both companies
come from outside Germany. Combining our strengths will
enable us to faster access and expand international growth
markets."
With regard to the
employees of the companies, both CEOs stated that the merger
will not result in any job losses.
In addition to the
merger of associations and the groups, a joint foundation is
planned to hold shares in the new group as an inalienable,
neutral, and independent third party. The purpose of the
foundation shall be to promote the next generation of
engineers. The merged associations and the foundation will
be located in Cologne. The headquarters of the merged group
shall be in Munich.
The current CEO of
TÜV Rheinland, Prof. Braun will head the
managing board of
the new group. His deputy and designated successor shall be
Dr. Stepken, the current CEO of TÜV SÜD. The handover is
scheduled for Jan. 1, 2010, after which Prof. Braun shall
switch to the supervisory board and become its chairman.
The merger timetable
calls for due diligence and initiation of the reviews by the
relevant antitrust authorities to be in place by May 2008.
After approval by the boards of directors and membership
meetings of the associations, the general meetings of the
AGs then will be asked to approve the merger by the end of
June. The merger of the associations is scheduled to follow
approval by the antitrust authorities.
TÜV SÜD
TÜV SÜD AG, Munich,
is an international service groups in the fields of
consulting, testing, certifying, and training. Consolidated
sales in 2007 grew for the fifth successive year to almost
EUR 1.3 billion of which more than a quarter resulted from
foreign business. The company employs 13,300 people
worldwide. TÜV SÜD is member of the Diversity Charta of the
Federal Government.
TÜV Rheinland
TÜV Rheinland
Holding AG, Cologne, is an international service group. In
the 2007 financial year, the company again reported record
sales of almost EUR 1 billion. For the first time, sales
outside Germany reached 40% of total sales. The company
currently has 12,500 employees, more than half of them
outside Germany. TÜV Rheinland supports the UN Global
Compact.
About TÜV Rheinland, North American Division
TÜVRheinland®
is a leader in independent testing and assessment services.
The $1.2 billion-corporation is comprised of an
international network of more than 10,000 employees at 340
locations in 60 countries and serves most industry sectors
and markets worldwide. TÜVRheinland is a member of the
Global Compact of the United Nations, a global network of
companies and interest groups. For additional information,
visit www.us.tuv.com.