Heidelberg local court assigns expert

• Mannheim-based lawyer Tobias Wahl assigned as expert to the court

Walldorf, 23 June 2015 – In the case of the insolvency proceedings filed against Ekotechnika GmbH by the now insolvent Kollossal Salz GmbH i.I. based in Bergheim, Austria, at the time represented by its managing director Stephan Geißlreiter of Amberg, the Heidelberg local court has today assigned Mannheim-based lawyer Tobias Wahl of the ANCHOR Rechtsanwälte law firm as an expert to the court (“Gutachter”). Mr Wahl is to prepare a report addressing the following questions, in particular: (i) are there any facts which justify the view that there are substantial reasons for opening insolvency proceedings against Ekotechnika GmbH and (ii) what are the prospects for Ekotechnika continuing as a going concern.

At the meeting of bondholders invested in the Ekotechnika bond (ISIN: DE000A1R1A18) on May 6, 2015, management already reported on the application filed by Kollossal Salz GmbH. Given that the Receiver appointed for the insolvent Kollossal Salz GmbH did not retract this application within the applicable deadline which expired yesterday, the court has assigned an expert to prepare a report, as would be expected in such cases.

Ekotechnika GmbH believes that the application filed by managing director Stephan Geißlreiter on behalf of Kollossal Salz GmbH should be considered a “querulous insolvency application”, i.e. an application filed to achieve other objectives. Moreover, the Receiver appointed for the insolvent Kollossal Salz GmbH, legally represented by lawyer Stephan Geißlreiter, has filed an action for annulment against the resolutions adopted by the bondholders’ meeting.

Wolfgang Bläsi, Managing Director of Ekotechnika, commented on this matter: “We assume that the expert appointed by the court will validate our legal assessment that there are no factual reasons for filing insolvency proceedings against Ekotechnika GmbH. Our view is supported by a legal opinion prepared by our counsel and we welcome the prospect of having this matter definitively clarified by an external court-assigned advisor. The financial restructuring of the company is proceeding as planned.”