Karl-Thomas Neumann, CEO of giant European auto parts maker Continental AG, and Rolf Koerfer, Continental’s chairman, will leave their posts in an effort to resolve a dispute with the family owners of Schaeffler Group, Continental’s majority owner, Bloomberg reported. Neumann will be replaced immediately by Elmar Degenhart, head of Schaeffler’s automotive unit, while Koerfer will step down after the company has found his replacement and a permanent CFO; he will remain on the board and serve on its chairman’s committee, according to the Bloomberg report. The dispute was fueled when Neumann defied the Schaeffler Group by pushing through a share sale of as much as 1.5 billion euros, which will significantly dilute Schaeffler’s holding, according to the Financial Times. Schaeffler “was strongly opposed to a capital boost as the highly indebted group lacks the money to buy further shares,” the FT reported. Neumann’s plan to raise capital “was seen as an assault on Schaeffler,” the FT article said. An earlier Bloomberg report noted that Neumann “would be Continental’s second leader in less than a year to lose his job in a dispute over strategy with Schaeffler, which racked up 11 billion euros of debt from buying the car-parts maker.” Schaeffler’s banks have threatened to take over the company, the FT reported. Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler, Schaeffler Group’s owner, had advocated Degenhart as Neumann’s replacement. (Sources: Financial Times, July 31, 2009; Bloomberg, July 31, 2009 and Aug. 12, 2009.)
-
877 reads