Why small investors criticize the court decision on Varta

Expropriated and muted – this is how small investors feel about their fate in the restructuring of the ailing German battery manufacturer Varta. The Stuttgart regional court announced on Thursday that all complaints against the restructuring planpresented by the Austrian entrepreneur Michael Tojner, to discard. The securities of small investors become worthless and complaints against them will no longer be permitted.

The German one SdK investor community has approved the controversial restructuring plan for the battery manufacturer Varta sharply criticized. The rejection of the complaints by the Stuttgart Regional Court was disappointing.

Rescue without bankruptcy

The case shows very clearly how ineffective, not to say the appeal system is ineffective within the framework of the Restructuring Act StaRUG SdK lawyer Markus Kienle said. The restructuring law StaRUG is intended to spare crisis companies from insolvency proceedings.

The company’s restructuring plan is now legally binding. He sees a reduction in the restructuring share capital to zero before. This means for the independent shareholders complete loss of their money. The investor community is again preparing a constitutional complaint against this. She failed with her first complaint in Karlsruhe.

SdK lawyer Kienle further criticized the fact that the Stuttgart regional court was dealing with the serious constitutional objections did not deal with it at all because, in the court’s opinion, a significant disadvantage had not been demonstrated.

Austrians stand out

The Austrian Interest Association for Investors (IVA) also criticized the court’s decision as “disappointing”. Now constitutional action must be taken against the StaRUG itself. The The law has “many construction errorswhich can be at the expense of the free float. “We have to check this constitutionally,” said IVA President Florian Beckermann.

After the approval of the restructuring plan, Varta now belongs to the Austrian Michael Tojnerwhich is already the majority shareholder of Varta, and the German car manufacturer Porschethat together 60 million euros of fresh capital shoot in.

A similar procedure already took place in 2023 when renovating the Auto supplier Leoniwhose restructuring also left the independent shareholders empty-handed. Here too, an Austrian industrialist had pushed small investors out: KTM-Chef Stefan Pierer. In 2024 he sold Leoni to China.