EPCOS, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of electronic components, modules and systems, has applied to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to delist its American Depositary Shares (ADS). In addition, the company will apply to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for deregistration and termination of the reporting obligations under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The company announced the management board resolution relating to these steps today (November 8, 2007).
EPCOS expects that the delisting will take effect on November 28, and that as of November 29, the ADS will no longer be traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Nevertheless, investors will still be able to hold US Dollar denominated EPCOS shares in the form of ADS and to trade the ADS over-the-counter under an unlisted »Level 1« program.
The vast majority of investors have long used the XETRA electronic trading platform or the Frankfurt Stock Exchange to buy and sell their EPCOS shares. By comparison, the volume of trading in the United States has always been very low. For this reason, EPCOS has weighed the benefits of listing on the NYSE against the associated costs and reached the decision that continuing the listing of the ADS is no longer commercially justifiable and that delisting and deregistration are in the interests of the shareholders.
Even after delisting and deregistration, EPCOS intends to maintain its high degree of transparency for the capital markets and continue to operate the internal control mechanisms established under the Sarbanes Oxley Act. This is intended to ensure good corporate governance going forward.
