Change in ownership structure will help boost business, says Sulzer

The presence of Russian conglomerate Renova as majority shareholder in Sulzer had led to the U.S. government declaring that Sulzer was subject to sanctions. In April, Sulzer announced that it had entered into a binding agreement with Renova to acquire five million Sulzer shares from Renova.

On April 11, 2018, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a license authorizing the completion of the transfer of the shares. This share transfer has been completed and Renova is now a minority shareholder, holding 48.83% of the shares in Sulzer. Sulzer now holds 15.24% of its own shares.

Sulzer has announced that it is no longer a blocked party or subject to sanctions under U.S. law. The company can now resume normal operations globally. To the extent that its assets have been blocked, Sulzer is taking the necessary steps to achieve timely reversal. “The business activities of Sulzer have been considerably disrupted, but the company does not believe that its long-term performance will be affected,” the company has said.

Sulzer has said that the unblocking of its assets by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is complete. Axel Heitmann, the Renova representative with the shortest tenure on Sulzer’s Board of Directors, has tendered his resignation. The Sulzer Board is now composed of seven members, three of whom represent Renova.

The Sulzer Board has elected Marco Musetti to replace Dr. Heitmann on the Audit Committee.