VARTA AG

Insolvencies have been running at very high levels, and StaRUG, the twenty-twenty-one German Stabilization and Restructuring Network, is now five years old, and I think this is a great time to take stock.

One leading case where it was used relates to Varta, where the process wiped out the free float of shares and handed the company to Porsche, uh, an existing-- and an existing shareholder.

But sadly, in July twenty-twenty-six, it was back in an insolvency process.

So we'll talk about that.

Um, I think the great thing is that notifications, in other words, the use of the process, has gone from pretty low take-up in the early days through, I think, about eighty-seven, uh, at last count in twenty-twenty-five.

Um, so it's clearly being used.

But at the same time, I mentioned, uh, the Varta case, where it used a, a, a StaRUG, uh, wiped out the public shareholders, and then was back in, uh, an insolvency process.

So it, it arguably didn't work.

Then I moved to, uh, batteries.

Um, Varta was the brand, um, back then in, in Colombia.

And then the pipes and fitting company that I was telling you that I, I moved to Bogotá.

After that, I came back to Medellín.