Bosch plans to acquire majority stake in ersol Solar Energy AG Activities in the photovoltaics field

· Bosch has signed agreements with Ventizz to acquire a 50.45 percent stake in ersol Solar Energy AG

· Public takeover offer to purchase all outstanding shares in ersol Solar Energy AG at 101.00 euros per share in cash

· ersol develops, manufactures, and sells wafer-based silicon solar cells and thin-film modules

· ersol Group: 160 million euros sales in 2007, more than 300 million euros sales expected in 2008, currently some 1,000 associates at three locations

Stuttgart – Bosch has signed agreements with the financial investor Ventizz to acquire 50.45 percent of the shares in ersol Solar Energy AG, Erfurt, Germany. The purchase price for these shares amounts to 546.4 million euros, equivalent to a price of 101.00 euros per share. The acquisition of the shareholding is subject to approval by the antitrust authorities. As a result of these agreements, Bosch intends to make a public takeover offer to all other ersol shareholders, in which it will also offer 101.00 euros per share in cash. The offer price will represent a premium of 68 percent based on the weighted average XETRA® and floor-trading share price of the past three months. Apart from Ventizz, further ersol shareholders, whose combined shareholding comes to a total of 3.3 percent, have already signed irrevocable undertakings to accept the offer.

ersol Solar Energy AG develops, manufactures, and sells wafer-based silicon solar cells, and is moving into the manufacture of thin-film modules. The photovoltaics company generated global sales of 160 million euros in 2007. For 2008, ersol expects sales of more than 300 million euros. The company currently employs some 1,000 associates at three locations.

With this acquisition, Bosch hopes to extend its business in the area of renewable energies. “As a leading technology and services company offering beneficial products and services, Bosch significantly contributes to protecting the environment and conserving resources. Together with ersol, which is a successful company in the field of photovoltaics, we want to further expand our business in this area. In this enterprise, we will count very much on the know-how and experience of ersol’s management and associates,” said Franz Fehrenbach, chairman of the Bosch board of management.

Bosch is already active in the market with many systems for utilizing renewable energies. With its existing activities in this area, it plans to generate sales of some 750 million euros in 2008. Bosch Rexroth, for example, supplies gear and drive technology for wind turbines, develops efficient drive concepts for the still young sector of marine energy generation, and supplies hydraulic adjusting systems for solar thermal power stations. In addition, Bosch Thermotechnology has become the market leader in the rapidly growing market for electric heat pumps, and is also a leading manufacturer of solar collectors for hot-water generation. In June 2007, Bosch entered into an alliance with the German companies BASF SE (Ludwigshafen) and Heliatek GmbH (Dresden) in the promising area of organic photovoltaics. The objective of this alliance is to produce solar cells significantly more cost effectively and at the same time to increase the number of areas where they can be used.

For further information on the planned public takeover offer, see http://angebot.bosch.com.


The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. In the areas of automotive and industrial technology, consumer goods, and building technology, some 271,000 associates generated sales of 46.3 billion euros in fiscal 2007. The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its more than 300 subsidiaries and regional companies in roughly 50 countries. This worldwide development, manufacturing, and sales network is the foundation for further growth. Each year, Bosch spends more than 3 billion euros for research and development, and applies for over 3,000 patents worldwide. The company was set up in Stuttgart in 1886 by Robert Bosch (1861-1942) as “Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering.”

The special ownership structure of Robert Bosch GmbH guarantees the entrepreneurial freedom of the Bosch Group, making it possible for the company to plan over the long term and to undertake significant up-front investments in the safeguarding of its future. Ninety-two percent of the share capital of Robert Bosch GmbH is held by Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH, a charitable foundation. The majority of voting rights are held by Robert Bosch Industrietreuhand KG, an industrial trust. The entrepreneurial ownership functions are carried out by the trust. The remaining shares are held by the Bosch family and by Robert Bosch GmbH.

Additional information can be accessed at www.bosch.com.