Asslar, Germany 8/7/17; Asslar, Germany 8/7/17; Maulburg, Germany 8/7/17—The chairman of vacuum solutions firm Pfeiffer Vacuum Technology, Dr. Michael Oltmanns, has announced his plans to retire in October. The announcement comes the same day as a proposal by Pangea, part of vacuum maker Busch, to call an extraordinary shareholders meeting to recall him and Supervisory Board member Dr. Wolfgang Lust. In June, Pfeiffer Vacuum shareholders rejected a tender offer by Pangea to acquire the firm (see IBO 6/15/17). As Pfeiffer Vacuum’s biggest shareholder, Busch owns more than 30% of the company.

Busch is proposing Pangea CEO Ayla Busch and former chairman Wolfgang Dondorf as new Supervisory Board members. “The economic self-interests as well as the missing impartiality and professionalism of Dr. Oltmanns as chairman of the Supervisory Board were demonstrated during the takeover process and particularly at the last annual general meeting,” stated Ms. Busch, who is a managing partner of Busch. At the extraordinary shareholders meeting, Pangea is also calling for a vote to appoint a special auditor to examine the Board’s conduct during the takeover offers, the use of the law firm Menold Bezler during the first voluntary takeover and Pfeiffer Vacuum’s recent acquisition of Nor-Cal Products.

Pfeiffer Vacuum is supplier of vacuum products for analytical instrumentation, as well as an MS vendor for gas analysis. According to Bloomberg, Dr. Oltmanns is a partner at Menold Bezler, but claimed no conflict of interest. On August 3, Pfeiffer Vacuum’s share price closed up 1.5% at €141.20 ($168.10 at €0.84 = $1). Pangea’s last offer was €110.00 per share ($1.31). Pfeiffer acquired Nor-Cal Products, a manufacturer of premium-quality vacuum components, chambers and valves, in June for $68 million.