FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - The restructuring of the Fresenius Group is entering the next stage. At an Extraordinary General Meeting in Frankfurt, shareholders of dialysis subsidiary Fresenius Medical Care (FMC) on Friday approved the conversion from a limited partnership into a stock corporation, the company announced. The decision was almost unanimous. In her speech, Group CEO Helen Giza spoke of a "historic day". The decision "opens a new chapter in the development of the company. The change of legal form will take effect when it is entered in the Commercial Register.

The change of the legal form had become necessary so that Fresenius can in future only report the blood laundering specialist as a financial investment in accordance with its share of about one third. Previously, FMC had been fully included. This had proved to be a burden for Fresenius in the past, as FMC was struggling with numerous problems and also burdened the parent company with profit warnings.

Fresenius shares were up 1 percent in the afternoon, while FMC was up 0.4 percent, outperforming the slightly weaker market. While Fresenius shares are currently almost flat compared to year-end 2022, FMC shares have gained more than half their value so far this year. Investors have again taken up the offer, among other things because the prospect of Fresenius' balance-sheet lottery was well received by the market - although the previous years had also seen a steep downward trend.

For FMC, a number of things are changing. The limited partnership form previously entailed extremely complex management and decision-making structures. With the change to a stock corporation, the dialysis company is introducing the two-tier German system with a co-determined supervisory board and a management board.

With their yes vote, the investors ensured "that we have a different - simpler, better and more agile corporate structure," FMC CEO Helen Giza advertised to the investors present. In addition to improved decision-making processes, the rights of shareholders as a whole would be strengthened, she cited as other benefits. The deconsolidation of Fresenius was "the best option for the further development of Fresenius Medical Care".

According to Fresenius CEO Michael Sen, FMC will get "more room to maneuver, which it needs to achieve the operational turnaround and make the best use of its opportunities in the market." The new structure will give the dialysis provider "better access to the capital markets for financing purposes and ensure more flexible decisions on financial and dividend policy." The company, which has meanwhile been relegated to the MDax after a poor share price performance, hopes to attract greater interest from investors again in the future.

The new Supervisory Board was also elected at the extraordinary shareholder meeting. Fresenius, as the largest shareholder, will in future be represented on the board by its Chief Financial Officer Sara Hennicken and Group CEO Michael Sen, who will take over as Chairman of the Supervisory Board. Among others, the former CFO of the Darmstadt-based Merck Group, Marcus Kuhnert, will also join the FMC Supervisory Board as a representative of the capital side.

The fund company DWS welcomed the change in legal form. This is a "fundamental step towards reducing the overall complexity of the group of companies in the long term," said its spokesman Hendrik Schmidt.

For FMC, the change of legal form also involves expenses: According to boss Giza, one-time costs of 50 to 100 million euros will be incurred, but these are unlikely to have much impact on the operating result (Ebit). In addition, there would be recurring expenses of probably significantly less than 50 million euros per year, since functions previously provided by the major shareholder Fresenius would now have to be provided by FMC itself./tav/lew/he