DGAP-News: The KION Group enters a new era by successfully completing its acquisition of Dematic (news with additional features)


DGAP-News: KION GROUP AG / Key word(s): Takeover
The KION Group enters a new era by successfully completing its acquisition
of Dematic (news with additional features)

01.11.2016 / 20:22
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

- The KION Group becomes a leading global provider of supply chain
  solutions, with a unique, comprehensive and cutting-edge
  solutions portfolio

- Dematic under new management: John Baysore is the new President and CEO

- KION Group CEO Gordon Riske: "The acquisition is the dawn of a new 
  era for the KION Group, Dematic and our customers"

- Dematic President and CEO Baysore: "We are proud that we can provide
  our customers with even more comprehensive support as part of the
  KION Group"

- The KION Group will have three segments for management and
 reporting purposes going forward

Wiesbaden, 1 November 2016 - Starting a new chapter in the global supply
chain industry, the KION Group has successfully completed its landmark
acquisition of Dematic, a leading specialist for automation and supply
chain optimisation. The purchase makes the KION Group one of the world's
leading providers of supply chain solutions with a unique and comprehensive
portfolio of products ranging from forklift trucks to fully automated
material handling solutions. The KION Group is thus ideally positioned to
tap into the attractive and profitable growth driven by megatrends such as
Industry 4.0, digitalization and e-commerce.

"Today marks the dawn of a new era for the KION Group, Dematic and our
customers," said Chief Executive Officer of the KION Group, Gordon Riske.
"The transaction brings together the world's most profitable manufacturer
of forklift trucks and warehouse technology with one of the largest and
fastest-growing warehouse automation and software solutions providers. Our
combined global presence, intelligent and tailored material handling as
well as comprehensive automation and software technology solutions, plus
now more than 30,000 dedicated and highly skilled employees will enable us
to deliver even more value for our customers."


Experienced management team for Dematic

The new Dematic operating unit will be led by John Baysore, previously CEO
of Dematic North America, who will hold the role of President and Chief
Executive Officer and has a proven track record in growing supply chain
solutions business. In the newly created role of Executive Vice President
International, Jeff Moss will head up Dematic's international business
outside North America, which will be a key focus for expansion. The new
management team will also include Frank Herzog, previously the KION Group's
Head of Corporate Finance, in the role of Executive Vice President Finance
and Chief Financial Officer. Business in North America will be the
responsibility of Scott Watts, who has been appointed Executive Vice
President North America.

"At Dematic, we are proud to move forward as part of the KION Group, which
even better positions us to assist our customers with supply chain
performance. The newly established solution portfolio affords our customers
the ability to accommodate their ever changing business requirements and
will dynamically optimize their warehouse and distribution functions," said
John Baysore. "The market for system solutions is expected to grow by
around 10 percent per year in the medium term. We have the innovative
technology, software expertise and global network to meet the supply chain
requirements of the future, such as those resulting from the rapidly
growing e-commerce sector and the many other vertical markets we serve."

KION CEO Gordon Riske expressed his gratitude to the departing CEO of
Dematic, Ulf Henriksson: "We are grateful to Ulf for his hard work helping
build Dematic to where it is today, and thank him for leading a smooth
closing process over the last several months."


The KION Group will have three segments

As a result of the transaction, the KION Group will start managing its
business and reporting financials by three segments in December 2016:
Industrial Trucks and Services, Supply Chain Solutions and Corporate
Services. The Industrial Trucks and Services segment represents KION's
business up to now and consists of four operating units: Linde Material
Handling EMEA and STILL EMEA, which each concentrate on Europe, the Middle
East and Africa, plus KION APAC and KION Americas, which hold cross-brand
responsibility for the Asia-Pacific region and the Americas, respectively.
The Supply Chain Solutions segment comprises Dematic, Egemin Automation and
Retrotech, while Corporate Services includes headquarter functions and
group wide services such as internal logistics and IT.

After the deduction of certain liabilities, the purchase consideration for
the shares in Dematic amounts to circa US$ 2.0 billion based on an
enterprise value of US$3.25 billion. The acquisition creates a leading
player with pro forma revenue of more than EUR6.7 billion in the 2015
calendar year and a high level of profitability in the form of a combined
adjusted EBIT margin of approximately 9.4 percent in the same period.

Dematic is a leading global supplier of advanced integrated supply chain
automation technology, software and services. Its portfolio of products and
systems includes intelligent software, conveyors, sortation, automated
guided vehicles, automated storage and retrieval systems, light/voice
directed order fulfilment, automated de-palletizing/palletizing and the
industry's most robust 24/7/365 customer service offering. Dematic has
grown by more than 12 percent annually since 2013. In 2015, it generated
revenue of roughly US$1.8 billion (EUR1.6 billion) and adjusted EBIT of US
$166 million (EUR150 million). Dematic employs almost 6,000 skilled
logistics professionals - including more than 3,000 engineers in software
development, research and development, engineering services, project
management and customer service. The company operates more than 100 sites
in 22 countries and is a leading player in the United States, Europe and
worldwide. To date, its specialists have installed more than 4,500
integrated systems for small, medium-sized and large companies in a broad
variety of industries, including the fast-growing e-commerce sector.


Attractive growth and cost synergies

The two companies complement one another with strong market positions and
regional presence thus opening up further opportunities for cross-selling.
Dematic will make use of the reputation and leading market positions of
KION's forklift brands in key markets such as Europe, China and Brazil,
while the KION Group benefits from Dematic's strong position in the U.S.
and European automation markets. This complementarity of both businesses
will generate cost synergies. Moreover, the combination of the KION Group's
comprehensive sales and service network and Dematic's large installed base
opens up potential for further revenue gains in the software, service and
retrofit businesses.


Robust capital and financing structure

In July, KION GROUP AG carried out a capital increase for 10 percent of its
share capital with around EUR459 million gross proceeds, which are to be
used to partly finance the transaction. The purchase was initially funded
by a bridging loan of EUR3 billion, which will be reduced using the
proceeds from the issue of shares. In addition to the capital increase, the
acquisition will also be refinanced by long-term capital-market and bank
debt. The KION Group's conservative financial policy focuses on maintaining
a strong cross-over credit profile with reliable access to debt capital
markets. Going forward, the KION Group therefore intends to ask for the
approval of its shareholders to create further authorised capital of up to
10 percent. This authorised capital would be used in the future should the
KION Group believe this to be prudent at that time.

Website: kiongroup.com/mediasite

Twitter: @kion_group


The Company

The KION Group is a global leader in industrial trucks, related services,
and supply chain solutions. Across more than 100 countries worldwide, the
KION Group designs, builds and supports logistics solutions that optimize
material and information flow within factories, warehouses and distribution
centres. The company is the largest manufacturer of industrial trucks in
Europe, the second-largest producer of forklifts globally, and a leading
provider of warehouse automation.

The KION Group's world-renowned brands are clear industry leaders. Dematic,
the newest addition to the KION Group, is a global leader in automated
material handling providing a comprehensive range of intelligent supply
chain and automation solutions. Egemin Automation is a leading logistics
automation specialist with a particular strength in AGVs. The Linde and
STILL brands serve the premium industrial truck segment. Baoli focuses on
industrial trucks in the economy segment. Among its regional industrial
truck brands, Fenwick is the largest supplier of material handling products
in France, OM STILL is a market leader in Italy, and Voltas is a leading
provider of industrial trucks in India.

With a global installed base of more than 1.2 million industrial trucks and
over 6,000 installed systems, KION Group's customer base includes companies
in all industries and of all sizes on six continents. The company's 30,000
dedicated and highly skilled employees generated more than EUR6.7 billion
in pro-forma revenue for the calendar year 2015.


Disclaimer

This document and the information contained herein are for information
purposes only and do not constitute a prospectus or an offer to sell or a
solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in the United States or in
any other jurisdiction.

This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to
various risks and uncertainties. Future results could differ materially
from those described in these forward-looking statements due to certain
factors, e.g. changes in business, economic and competitive conditions,
regulatory reforms, results of technical studies, foreign exchange rate
fluctuations, uncertainties in litigation or investigative proceedings, and
the availability of financing. We do not undertake any responsibility to
update the forward-looking statements in this release.


Further information for the media

KION Group

Michael Hauger
Head of Corporate Communications
Tel.: +49 (0)611 770 655
Mobile: +49 (0)151 16 86 55 50
michael.hauger@kiongroup.com

Frank Brandmaier
Head of Corporate Media Relations
Tel.: +49 (0)611 770 752
frank.brandmaier@kiongroup.com

Dematic

Cheryl Falk
Senior Vice President, Global Marketing Communications
Tel.: +1 414 870 8735
cheryl.falk@dematic.com


Further information for investors

Dr Karoline Jung-Senssfelder
Head of Investor Relations and M&A
Tel.: +49 (0)611 770 450
karoline.jung-senssfelder@kiongroup.com


---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Additional features:

Picture: http://newsfeed2.eqs.com/kion/516407.html
Subtitle: KION Group CEO Gordon Riske (left) and John Baysore, the new
Dematic President and CEO

Document: http://n.eqs.com/c/fncls.ssp?u=HGQFEEJUOC
Document title: Download Press Release as PDF

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

01.11.2016 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a
service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements,
Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.
Archive at www.dgap.de

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

   Language:    English                                                     
   Company:     KION GROUP AG                                               
                Abraham-Lincoln-Str. 21                                     
                65189 Wiesbaden                                             
                Germany                                                     
   Phone:       +49 (0)611 770-0                                            
   Fax:         +49 (0)611 770-690                                          
   E-mail:      info@kiongroup.com                                          
   Internet:    www.kiongroup.com                                           
   ISIN:        DE000KGX8881                                                
   WKN:         KGX888                                                      
   Indices:     MDAX                                                        
   Listed:      Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated   
                Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover,  
                Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange                       
 
 
   End of News    DGAP News Service  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

516407 01.11.2016