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VARTA AG (pronounced [ˈvaʁta]; German: Vertrieb, Aufladung, Reparatur transportabler Akkumulatoren – lit. 'distribution, recharging and repair of portable accumulators') is a German company manufacturing batteries for global automotive, industrial, and consumer markets.
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Company type | Public |
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ISIN | DE000A0TGJ55 |
Industry | Electrical equipment |
Predecessor | Accumulatoren-Fabrik AFA ![]() |
Founded | 27 December 1887 |
Founder | Adolf Müller |
Headquarters | Ellwangen, Germany |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Germany Markus Hackstein (spokesman of the board) |
Products | Electrical batteries |
Website | www |
![](http://178.128.105.246/cars-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d7/Ellwangen_Varta_1.jpg/220px-Ellwangen_Varta_1.jpg)
History
editVARTA was founded by Adolf Müller in 1887, and established in 1904 as a subsidiary of Accumulatoren-Fabrik AFA.[1] After World War I, VARTA together with AFA was acquired by German industrialist Günther Quandt and industrialist and VARTA CEO Dr. Carl Hermann Roderbourg.[2] After World War II, most of the VARTA shares passed from Günther Quandt to his son, Herbert Quandt. The subsidiary in East Berlin was later occupied by the Soviet Union, and was named BAE Batterien.
In 1977, VARTA AG's businesses were split up by Herbert Quandt; battery and plastics operations were retained in VARTA AG, but the pharmaceuticals and specialty chemical businesses were transferred to a new company called Altana, and the electrical business was spun off into a company called CEAG. Herbert Quandt left the company's shares to his children.[citation needed]
In 2002, the consumer battery activities (excluding button cells) were sold to Rayovac. The automotive battery business was acquired by Johnson Controls. The button cell and home energy storage businesses were acquired by Montana Tech Components.[citation needed]
By 2006, VARTA AG had sold all its operating divisions, and the Quandts had sold their shares. VARTA AG then liquidated its remaining assets, contracts, liabilities and shareholdings, in particular the manufacture and sale of VARTA batteries, while continuing its company businesses.[citation needed]
On 19 October 2017, 11,600,000 shares of the VARTA AG were floated on the stock market (Prime Standard), with an additional 1,740,000 bought by underwriters (green shoe), out of a total of 38,200,000 shares. With an issue price of 17.50 euro the company had a value of 668.5 million euro.[3][4] On 2 January 2019, American company Energizer Holdings, Inc. took control over VARTA's consumer battery segment.[5][6] On 29 May 2019, VARTA AG signed an agreement to acquire the VARTA Consumer Batteries business for the Europe, Middle East and Africa regions (including the manufacturing and distribution facilities in Germany) from Energizer Holdings, which was completed on 2 January 2020.[7][8]
In 2020 the government gave Varta 300 million Euros for the construction of a production facility for EV lithium-ion batteries, but the company decided to abandon the project two years later to cut cost. In 2023 they cut 800 jobs.[9] An attack on the IT systems in February 2024 forced the production down for one month[10] and prevented the scheduled Annual general meeting in May 2024 which resulted in an exchange loss of some 8,4 %.[11] In June 2024 Varta had accumulated nearly 500 million Euros in debt and informed the Amtsgericht Stuttgart about a major restructuring. According to press reports from July 2024, the company intends to reduce its nominal capital to zero, which would devaluate its stock.[9] Martin Buchenau commented in the Handelsblatt in late July 2024, that while minor shareholders are destined to lose everything, major shareholder Michael Tojner and Porsche are entangled in a bitter fight with creditors about who will give up how much of the money they lent to VARTA.[12]
Products
edit- Batteries and other products produced by Varta
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Poliflex-Accumulator from Varta Microbattery
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Rechargeable batteries from Varta
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Lithium-ion-accumulator
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zinc–carbon battery: monocel with the design of the 1970s
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Battery from Pertrix
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Varta Pertrix 74, 15-volt battery
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Coin cells from Varta
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Varta combi charger with two Varta NiCd accumulators (2100 mAh, AA)
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LED-torch light produced by VARTA
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Varta solar charger model 57082 with two 2100 mAh Ni–MH rechargeable batteries
References
edit- ^ "VARTA History". VARTA.
- ^ "VARTA Founder Villa Roderbourg history". Villa Roderbourg.
- ^ "Varta AG − Angaben zum Unternehmen". Frankfurt Stock Exchange. 20 October 2017. Archived from the original on 21 October 2017.)
- ^ VARTA AG beendet Angebotszeitraum vorzeitig und legt Emissionspreis bei 17,50 Euro je Aktie fest, Presse release Varta AG at dgap.de, 18 October 2017 (written in German language)
- ^ Manager-Magazin.de: Energizer übernimmt Varta-Batterien
- ^ "Energizer Holdings, Inc. Announces the Closing of the Spectrum Brands' Battery and Portable Lighting Business Acquisition". 2 January 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ "VARTA AG acquires VARTA Consumer Batteries business from Energizer". 29 May 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ "VARTA AG successfully completes acquisition of VARTA Consumer Batteries business from Energizer". 2 January 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ a b Clemens Schreiber: "Restrukturierung auf Schwäbisch" ,TAZ, 23 July 2024
- ^ "Hackerangriff auf Varta: Produktion erst nach einem Monat wieder angelaufen" unternehmen-cybersicherheit.de, 13 March 2024
- ^ "Varta-Aktie knickt ein: Verschiebung von Jahresabschluss und Hauptversammlung" finanzen.net, 15 March 2024
- ^ "Varta ist der GAU für Kleinaktionäre" Handelsblatt.de, 25 July 2024