In tough negotiations over the past few weeks, CEO Reiner Beutel has managed to procure a little more time for troubled automotive supplier Schefenacker (Esslingen / Germany; www.schefenacker.com). The company urgently needs time, because it is very likely that the quarterly figures will not make the creditors particularly happy. If the agreed targets are not reached, they will have the right to demand immediate payment of senior credit facilities amounting to EUR 205m. With the agreement, the acute risk of insolvency initially appears to have been averted. Now it is a matter of negotiating with the creditors over the subordinated loans, due in February 2007.

In the meantime, management is proceeding with its restructuring plan and has already transferred several operating subsidiaries to the newly founded sub-holding, Schefenacker Management UK Ltd. In a second step – subject to customers´ upholding their purchasing agreements – assets and liabilities of the German company Schefenacker AG are to be transferred to Schefenacker plc, a newly created British company. The banks have conditionally consented to this.