BankM AG
BankM – Repräsentanz der biw Bank für Investments und Wertpapiere AG:

BankM - Repräsentanz der biw Bank für Investments und Wertpapiere AG /
Key word(s): Miscellaneous

23.11.2012 / 13:55

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BankM - biw AG executes block trades in shares of Ultrasonic AG 


- Ultrasonic shares in an amount of over EUR 19 million placed by BankM -
biw AG
- All private equity investors sold to European long term oriented
investors
- New investors participate in the continued domestic demand growth in
China

Frankfurt, 23 November 2012 - BankM - representative office of biw Bank für
Investments und Wertpapiere AG ('BankM - biw AG') announces to have
successfully closed the sale of blocks of Ultrasonic shares to several
institutional investors in Europe. The transactions took place on a road
show after the company presentation at the German Equity Forum from 12 to
14 November 2012 in Frankfurt.

The last sale from private equity investors in the amount of EUR 10 million
was, at the specific request of the sellers, executed in the form of block
trades. The goal was to avoid any negative impact on the share price
development and at the same time reorganizing the shareholder base of the
company as well as resolving the stock overhang. Earlier this year, a
placement of EUR 3 million from pre-IPO shareholders had been executed by
BankM - biw AG. The overall amount of the transactions is slightly over EUR
19 million, having started with a EUR 6 million placement from a capital
increase at the Safe IPO of Ultrasonic AG, which took place at the end of
2011 on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

'The placement of all shares of the pre-IPO private equity investors should
pave the way for a continued positive development of the stock price,' said
Thomas Stewens, responsible for communications and strategy at BankM - biw
AG. 'Therefore, it made only sense to place all of the private equity
shareholders to new investors in a coordinated process, ensuring that the
share price development would not be jeopardized by the transaction itself.
This transaction also shows that our Safe IPO is an effective means to
perform successful IPOs even in a very challenging market environment. The
Safe IPO enables the company to establish trust, then gradually expand its
investor base and implement additional capital measures. Ultrasonic AG,
with its high transparency, outstanding reporting and the innovative
concept of the 'option dividend' thus received the opportunity to convince
investors in Europe.'
 
After the IPO of Aschaffenburg based online travel agent Travel Viva AG on
the Entry Standard in February 2010, BankM - biw AG has executed several
Safe IPOs with German and China based companies, ensuring a successful IPO
of the company in any market environment. After the respective IPOs, it was
possible to execute further capital increases and / or placements,
gradually increasing the free float.

Since 2010, BankM - biw AG has taken four companies public in Germany,
which have their primary operations in the Chinese domestic market. These
are KINGHERO AG, a branded fashion company, Youbisheng Green Paper AG, a
manufacturer of packaging paper from up to 100% recycled paper and
Ultrasonic AG, a manufacturer of high quality branded shoes as well as
Haikui Seafood AG, a processor of fish and seafood.

'We believe those companies from China to be particularly interesting,
which supply the growing Chinese middle class with high quality consumer
goods and at the same time show superior profitability, enabling them to
pay wages for the employees in China, often constituting a multiple of the
local minimum wage', states Dr Roger Becker, chief analyst at BankM - biw
AG. 'These business models seem to be positioned sustainably well,
satisfying a real demand for high quality basic goods such as clothing,
shoes, food and packaging paper. In addition, the development of the
domestic demand has the full attention of the central Chinese government,
supporting a steady growth in consumption. Thus, in the last twelve months,
which were characterized by recessive trends in many markets, the domestic
demand in China increased by over 14%. In our assessment, the local Chinese
manufacturers of high quality products will benefit from this market
development disproportionately.'
 



About Ultrasonic AG:
The Cologne-based company Ultrasonic AG is the German holding company of
the Chinese ULTRASONIC Group, an established manufacturer and supplier of
high-quality branded urban footwear. With around 1,400 employees the Group
operates in three market segments, each of which contributes about a third
to the Group's revenue. ULTRASONIC produces sandals and slippers for the
upper price segment and is a long-term supplier of shoe soles for leading
manufacturers in the booming Chinese sport shoe industry, for example Anta,
Xtep and Unisuper. Moreover, the company has successfully established its
own 'Urban footwear' collection which is marketed under the ULTRASONIC
brand and is specifically designed to meet the needs and taste of China's
growing urban middle class. ULTRASONIC's branded urban footwear collection
is currently marketed in around 100 Ultrasonic mono-label shops, which
achieve selling prices in a range from RMB 400 to RMB 1,200 per pair,
equivalent to approx. EUR 50 to EUR 140. Within the last three years
ULTRASONIC's business had a compound annual growth rate of more than 34.4
percent. In FY 2011, the company generated total revenues of EUR 119.4
million and achieved a net profit of EUR 24.9 million. For further
information about the company visit: www.ultrasonic-ag.de


About BankM - biw AG:
Since 2007, BankM - representative office of biw AG (Frankfurt am Main,
Germany) is the partner of small and mid-sized enterprises and specialising
in capital market financing with its experienced team. Particularly during
the banking and debt crisis more and more corporations trust in the
individual services, meanwhile increasing the number of corporate clients
to over 70. Unlike Anglo-Saxon style investment banking, BankM - biw AG's
philosophy is to provide long-term support for high-growth companies based
on the principles of relationship banking. BankM - biw AG specialises in
advising and supporting clients seeking to strengthen their equity base to
ensure secure and efficient funding for future growth.

BankM's service-portfolio ranges from the wide field of equity financing,
market making on the electronic trading platform Xetra ('Designated
Sponsoring'), research, corporate bonds and hybrid financing, as well as
M&A. BankM - biw AG is a team of professionals with a personal
interdisciplinary experience of more than 150 years from over 200
transactions (including nearly 40 IPOs).

Equity-financed FIB Management AG (FIB) is owner of the BankM brand and
acts as an tied agent in terms of sec. 2 para. 10 German Banking Act (KWG)
in the name of and on account of biw Bank für Investments und Wertpapiere
AG, so far as they provide services which attribute to the investment and
contract broking as well as placement transactions in terms of Sec. 1 para.
1a sentences 2 No. 1, 1c and No. 2 (KWG). Additionally, FIB Management AG
is outsourcer for biw Bank für Investments und Wertpapiere AG (outsourcing
company) undertaking Designated Sponsoring services under the BankM brand
(proprietary trading according to sec. 1 para. 1a sentence 2 No. 4 KWG).


For further questions please contact:

Thomas Stewens
BankM - Repraesentanz der biw Bank für Investments und Wertpapiere AG 
Mainzer Landstraße 61
60329 Frankfurt
Germany

Phone.: +49 (0) 69 71 91 838-10
Fax: +49 (0) 69 71 91 838-50   
e-mail: pr@bankm.de
Internet: www.bankm.de


End of Corporate News

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23.11.2012 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a
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194477 23.11.2012