TÜV Rheinland & TÜV SÜD – Cooperation rather than merger

TÜV Rheinland and TÜV SÜD – Cooperation rather than merger

Cologne/Munich, December 22, 2008. The CEOs of TÜV Rheinland and TÜV SÜD, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Bruno O. Braun and Dr.-Ing. Axel Stepken, have issued a joint statement explaining that the two companies are currently no longer considering a merger.

“We will not submit the merger plan to the Bundeskartellamt (German regulatory authority) again at this time, although we continue to believe that a convergence of the two companies is the right idea, both from an economic and entrepreneurial standpoint. For the time being, after an extraordinarily successful business year in 2008, both companies will prepare for the challenges of the current global economic downturn,” the two CEOs explained.

“The objective of the merger was to create a global champion rooted and headquartered in Germany. However, for economic reasons, and due to our responsibility towards our staff, we were unable to implement the various measures required by the Bundeskartellamt as prerequisites for approval,” said the two Chief Executives in reference to the decision. “The Bundeskartellamt in Bonn has only the domestic German market in mind, whereas our merger plans were mainly geared towards the international and globalized markets. In Germany, the two companies would have complemented each other in a healthy manner and grown to generate new, secure jobs.”

Both CEOs regret the fact that the merger will not take place at this time. In summer, all relevant boards of the two corporations unanimously approved of the move to join forces. Customers, board members and employees reacted very positively to the plan, which also received support and goodwill from the political sphere.

Prof. Bruno O. Braun and Dr. Axel Stepken announced plans to intensify cooperation and carry out mutual projects in international markets. The first joint venture is already in the pipeline.