The struggling German agricultural, energy, and construction group Baywa remains in troubled waters. Less than ten months after taking office, CEO Frank Hiller has been ousted. His responsibilities will be divided among three other directors.
Of these, restructuring director Michael Baur appears to be the one who is most influential. He wants to primarily reorganize further and maintain a relatively defensive approach. This is a different course than Hiller appears to have advocated, according to German media. Hiller reportedly wanted to unveil new growth plans.
Hiller's ouster may be seen as a sobering fact and a moment of further clarity, but a new dispute at the top is not what Baywa needs now and could make investors more cautious again.
Confidence has actually returned somewhat, now that a clear agreement has been reached on the sale of subsidiary Cefetra. It will be acquired by a group of as-yet-unnamed investors. They will pay approximately €125 million for the acquisition and will also assume some of the debt.
Reportedly, several Dutch entrepreneurs are also part of the consortium that acquired Cefetra. More clarity on this is expected soon.