dpa Conti supervisory board - Koerfer election is invalid
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The former head of the Conti supervisory board Koerfer, who is also an advisor to the major Conti shareholder Schaeffler, may have raised concerns about conflicts of interest. Conti had not adequately informed its shareholders about this before the general meeting in April 2009, at which Koerfer was elected to the supervisory board.
Major shareholder Schaeffler is considering an appeal
Conti can appeal the decision within four weeks. The case would then come before the higher regional court in Celle. A spokesman for Schaeffler in Herzogenaurach said: 'We cannot understand the decision and assume that an appeal will be lodged against this judgment.' Schaeffler directly and indirectly holds 75 percent of Conti.
Koerfer was surprisingly elected head of the Conti supervisory board at the insistence of the major shareholder in spring 2009 in the course of a power struggle between Continental and Schaeffler. The lawyer has been a long-standing advisor to Schaeffler and played an important role in the takeover of Conti by the family company.
A year ago, Conti shareholder Christian Strenger had already made a complaint. He is a member of the government commission on corporate governance, which has developed rules of conduct for good corporate governance. Stricterly argued that Koerfer, as chief advisor of the Schaeffler Group, could not exercise the chairmanship of the Conti supervisory board because, according to the law, he alone had to represent the interests of Continental AG in this office. After Koerfer's election to the supervisory board by the general meeting, Strenger, among others, had sued again.
K oerfer took up his post as Conti supervisory board head last autumn submitted. His successor was Linde boss Wolfgang Reitzle. Koerfer is still a member of the Supervisory Board as a member of the Presidium. The change at the top of the committee was part of a fundamental reorganization of the Conti top, with which Continental and Schaeffler had ended their months of quarrels.
