paragon plans sale of Voltabox stake

- Options range from partial placement to the sale of the majority stake

- paragon aims to focus on high-growth premium segments of the automotive industry

Delbrück, March 3, 2020 - paragon [ISIN DE0005558696] plans to sell its stake in its subsidiary Voltabox AG. The options currently being weighed by the majority shareholder range from a partial sale to the sale of the entire stake. paragon aims to invest the proceeds in its core automotive business. Currently, paragon holds 60 percent of the share capital of Voltabox AG, with the remaining 40 percent in free float.

"paragon has brought Voltabox AG to its market-leading position over a period of more than eight years," said Klaus Dieter Frers, Chairman of the Board of paragon GmbH, the general partner in paragon GmbH & Co. KGaA. "However, as an automotive company with a strong base in continental Europe, we are not the right long-term partner to scale the business globally and thus exploit its full growth potential."

There are ever fewer overlaps between paragon's and Voltabox's business models. paragon focuses on the automotive industry's high-growth premium segments such as sensors, digital assistance systems and body kinematics, while Voltabox's lithium-ion battery systems are deployed in numerous industrial applications. Already today, there are no significant overlaps and dependencies between paragon and Voltabox.

Against this background, paragon's management believes that Voltabox AG can best leverage its considerable market potential as market leader for lithium-ion battery systems in industrial applications with well-capitalized owners that have a strong international footprint. Beyond intralogistics and electric buses, the company currently also has significant growth opportunities in attractive mass markets. In selling its stake, paragon aims to ensure that Voltabox can fully exploit these growth opportunities.

paragon GmbH & Co. KGaA has mandated ODDO SEYDLER BANK AG as Capital Markets Advisor for a potential partial sale.

About paragon GmbH & Co. KGaA

paragon GmbH & Co. KGaA (ISIN DE0005558696), which is listed in the regulated market (Prime Standard) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, develops, produces and distributes forward-looking solutions in the field of automotive electronics, body kinematics and e-mobility. As a market-leading direct supplier to the automotive industry, the company's portfolio includes the Electronics operating segment's innovative air-quality management, state-of-the-art display systems and connectivity solutions, and high-end acoustic systems. In the Mechanics operating segment, paragon develops and produces active mobile aerodynamic systems. With Voltabox AG (ISIN DE000A2E4LE9), a subsidiary that is also listed on the regulated market (Prime Standard) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the Group is also active in the rapidly growing Electromobility operating segment with its cutting-edge lithium-ion battery systems developed in-house.

In addition to the company headquarters in Delbrück (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany), paragon GmbH & Co. KGaA and its subsidiaries operate sites in Suhl (Thuringia, Germany), Landsberg am Lech and Neu-Ulm (Bavaria, Germany), Markgröningen and St. Georgen (Baden-Württemberg, Germany), Limbach (Saarland, Germany), Aachen (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) as well as in Kunshan (China), Oroslavje (Croatia) and Austin (Texas, USA).

Additional information about paragon can be found at

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paragon GmbH & Co. KGaA

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