Voith to Switch Corporate Legal Status Into a KGaA
Unlisted German mechanical engineering group Voith on Monday said it plans to change its legal status into a KGaA, or a partnership limited by shares, as a way to give it greater flexibility to pursue growth options.
Voith's management has recommended that the family controlled company switch its corporate legal status from Voith GmbH, into Voith GmbH & Co KGaA in July 2017, the Heidenheim, Germany-based engineering giant said.
"The step is designed to increase Voith's room for manoeuvre in the next couple of years and to support the company's growth strategy as part of a digital transformation," Voith said in a press release on Monday.
The KGaA legal form makes Voith into a stock corporation controlled by individually liable shareholders.
Despite the proposed change to its legal form, Voith has no plans to seek a stock market listing, a source at the company said.
Founded in 1867, Voith today has around 19,000 employees, sales of 4.3 billion euros ($4.67 billion) and locations in more than 60 countries worldwide.
(Reporting by Edward Taylor and Ilona Wissenbach)
