Around 700 employees at fitness and leisure equipment supplier Kettler are once again facing an uncertain future. After surviving insolvency and the fatal accident of company heiress Karin Kettler, the Sauerland-based company is now looking for a buyer - on top of that there is a tax affair.
"Kettler GmbH is currently examining all possibilities of cooperation with a strategic partner or potential investors and shareholders," a company spokeswoman announced. This restructuring process "should be completed by the end of the year", Ludger Busche, long-time confidant of the late company heiress Karin Kettler, and Olaf Bierhoff assume. After many changes in management, they currently lead Kettler GmbH after surviving insolvency. In June 2015, Kettler had filed for insolvency in self-administration. In March 2016, the company had terminated the proceedings and then returned to full production.
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The business magazine "Bilanz" has caused a new stir. According to this, German tax investigators are investigating the Heinz Kettler Foundation for evasion. Company founder Heinz Kettler is suspected of having transferred tens of millions in proceeds from foreign business to Switzerland, bypassing the German tax authorities. However, Kettler GmbH stressed that the company was in a fiduciary structure and acted independently and autonomously from the Heinz Kettler Foundation. There were no connections under company law with the Heinz Kettler Foundation.
Background: In the insolvency proceedings in self-administration, Heinz Kettler GmbH & Co. KG became Kettler GmbH. Neither the company heiress Karin Kettler nor the Heinz Kettler Foundation were or are involved in the new Kettler GmbH. In addition, the sole heiress Karin Kettler died in a car accident at the age of 57 at the beginning of March 2017. She had already withdrawn from the operational business in April 2016. Thus, liability for liabilities of the insolvent Heinz Kettler GmbH that were not assumed as part of the spin-off was ruled out.
In the spring of 2016, the legendary kettcar manufacturer was successfully rescued - thanks in large part to a ten-year guarantee from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Officially, the Ministry of Finance had never confirmed a 30-million-euro guarantee. Sole owner Karin Kettler, the daughter of the company's founder, is also said to have privately contributed millions to the company's rescue. The bicycle division was sold to the dealer association ZEG in the process. The workforce shrank by 200 - originally there were to be 400 - to around 750 employees, and the bicycle division was sold to the ZEG dealer association. The other businesses of the insolvent Heinz Kettler GmbH were transferred to Kettler GmbH, based in Ense.
According to Kettler, the reason for the search for a strong partner was the tough competition in the industry. Many competitors - unlike Kettler - manufacture mainly in less expensive foreign countries. In addition to sports equipment, leisure furniture and play vehicles, the production facilities in Werl also manufacture play equipment and table tennis tables - often from the beginning to the end of a production chain. One of the greatest successes of the former flagship company in our industry was the legendary pedal car Kettcar. Heinz Kettler had founded the company in 1949 and turned it into a leading manufacturer of sports equipment, fitness equipment, bicycles and garden furniture. With the world's first aluminum bike, Kettler revolutionized the bicycle world at the end of the 1970s. The "Golf" home trainer was one of the most popular pieces of fitness equipment in Europe in the 1980s. The home fitness market is the Kettler Group's top-selling sector with a high export share. The brand stands for "made in Germany".
After the death of founder Heinz Kettler in 2005, Dr. Karin Kettler continued to run the traditional company. According to the company, Kettler's turnover in the 2012/13 financial year was around EUR 200 million; in 2008 it was EUR 300 million, and most recently it was only around EUR 135 million. In its search for one or more investors, Kettler is being advised by M&A consultancy Clearwater International, it said. Clearwater puts the value of the company at EUR 100 million.
New and used fitness equipment from Kettler can also be found at fitnessmarkt.de!
Source: sazsport.com
Image source: Kettler
Published on: 17 October 2017