Top Stada Executives Resign, New Takeover Offers May Be Considered

Stada Arzneimittel AG appoints new chief executive officer and chief financial officer—incumbents step down from their positions.

The supervisory board of Stada Arzneimittel AG has appointed Engelbert Coster Tjeenk Willink (56) as chief executive officer with immediate effect. The duties of chief financial officer will be taken over with immediate effect by Dr. Bernhard Düttmann (57).

They replace incumbent chief executive officer Dr. Matthias Wiedenfels and chief financial, marketing, and sales officer Helmut Kraft, who have informed the supervisory board that they will step down from their positions with immediate effect for personal reasons.

“The supervisory board has been working for many months to complete the executive board and to find the best team to make the company fit for the future,” said Ferdinand Oetker, chairman of the supervisory board of Stada Arzneimittel AG. “The supervisory board of Stada accepts the personal decisions taken by Dr. Wiedenfels and Mr. Kraft. “Our operational business is unaffected by this, and we do not deviate from our operating and financial targets. Should further takeover offers be made, we will examine and evaluate them impartially.”

Alongside his duties as chief executive officer, Tjeenk Willink will also be responsible for marketing and operations. He has 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and was until 2012 a member of the executive board of Boehringer Ingelheim. Since then, he has been a member of numerous supervisory boards in the sector.

New chief financial officer Düttman was until 2015 CFO of Lanxess AG, the DAX company, and prior to that was CFO at Beiersdorf AG, another DAX listed company. Both members of the executive board were appointed until the end of the year on an interim basis. Dr. Barthold Piening, executive board member responsible for production and development, will continue his duties unchanged.

Oetker confirmed that medium-term growth targets for 2019, announced on March 17, 2017 remain unchanged. The company expects consolidated sales of between Euro 2.65 and 2.7 billion, adjusted EBITDA of between Euro 570 and 590 million, and consolidated group profit of between Euro 250 and 270 million.

(Source: Stada Arzneimittel AG)