• GESCO AG divests six subsidiaries
• Milestone in implementation of NEXT LEVEL
• Improved profitability, strengthened balance sheet
• Outlook for year as a whole renewed
• Focus on acquisitions

Wuppertal, 21 December 2020 - GESCO AG has concluded a contract today on the sale of a group of six subsidiaries. The acquirer is a fund of Evoco AG, Zurich, an investor specialised in the acquisition and development of medium-sized portfolios. The transaction constitutes the closing of GESCO's mobility technology segment as well as the largest portfolio adjustment in company history. The transaction is carried out within the scope of the NEXT LEVEL strategy and aims at making the portfolio more profitable, robust and guaranteeing future viability.

The four companies that make up the mobility technology segment as well as Frank Walz- und Schmiedetechnik GmbH and C.F.K. CNC-Fertigungstechnik Kriftel GmbH will be divested. The closing of the transaction is expected to take place for five of the six companies shortly after the signing of the contract; for Paul Beier GmbH & Co. KG from the mobility technology segment, the closing is subject to the granting of regulatory approval.

Based on the figures for financial year 2020, GESCO will thereby dispose of roughly € 90 million in Group sales and some € -15 million in Group EBIT, which consists of an operating loss of around € -1.5 million and € -13.5 million in impairment losses from impairment tests already carried out in the summer of 2020.

The purchase price amounts to € 27 million and is accompanied by a net cash inflow of € 15 million, which is partially earmarked for reduction of liabilities and partially for acquisitions. In addition, the buyer assumes net liabilities, pension obligations and lease liabilities of in total approximately € 28 million.

Taking into account the transaction and better-than-expected operating business, the outlook for continuing operations for 2020 as a whole has been renewed. The Executive Board now expects Group sales of approximately € 400 million (previously: exceeding € 450 million including the companies which have been sold). In terms of Group net income for the year after minority interest before impairment losses, the Executive Board had expected to at least break even; taking into account the impairment losses, this corresponded to a figure at or exceeding € -13.5 million. Upon completion of the transaction, the Executive Board now expects Group net income for the year after minority interest from continuing operations of roughly € 5 million.

GESCO CFO Kerstin Müller-Kirchhofs: "We are divesting ourselves of low-margin sales and thereby increasing the profitability of the Group. In doing so, we will be significantly streamlining the balance sheet, reducing liabilities and strengthening the equity ratio. In combination with adequate liquid assets, we are well positioned for both investments in internal growth as well as external Group expansion through acquisitions."

GESCO CEO Ralph Rumberg: "GESCO will remain a long-term investor, we always purchase companies with the intention of holding and developing them in the long term. At the same time, we have to have the freedom to divest ourselves of subsidiaries for strategic reasons and in exceptional cases, as we have also done in the past. In Evoco, we were able to find a responsible investor with an entrepreneurial approach. The sale of the mobility segment is a milestone in the implementation of NEXT LEVEL. Upon completion of this complex and demanding transaction, we are now fully focusing our management capacity and financial resources on the profitable development of the existing portfolio as well as on the expansion of the Group through the further acquisition of attractive SMEs."

The central information of this press release was published today in the form of an ad hoc announcement.

About GESCO
GESCO AG is an industrial group made up of market and technology leading companies in the capital goods industry with a focus on production process technology, resource technology, as well as healthcare and infrastructure technology. As a stock company listed in the Prime Standard, GESCO AG offers private and institutional investors access to a portfolio of hidden champions among Germany's industrial SMEs.

Investor Relations - Oliver Vollbrecht
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