Wyser-Pratte to Appeal German Court Decision -- HDW Sale Blocked Pending Appeals Process.Business Editors Wyser-Pratte Management Co. Inc (WPM wpm abbr. words per minute wpm words per minute Noun 1. wpm - the rate at which words are produced (as in speaking or typing) words per minute ) confirmed it would file an immediate appeal of a German lower court decision rejecting WPM's call for a shareholders meeting on the proposed sale of Babcock Borsig's (BBX-GR) ship/submarine building subsidiary, HDW HDW Hardware HDW Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (German Shipbuilding Company) HDW Harley-Davidson of Washington HDW Hemoglobin Distribution Width HDW Hollow Dielectric Waveguide HDW High density satellite derived wind HDW Harvard Data Warehouse . The decision announced by the lower court in Oberhausen conflicts with a ruling last week, by the regional Court of Duisburg, Germany upholding two separate injunctions against the sale of HDW shares to One-Equity-Partners (OEP OEP Office of Emergency Preparedness (US Department of Health and Human Services) OEP Oxford Economic Papers OEP Optometric Extension Program OEP Operational Evolution Plan OEP Open Enrollment Period (US Medicare) ), an investment arm of Bank One or any other buyer. The Oberhausen court ruling will actually be appealed to the same Duisburg court. "It is a curious ruling from this lower court," said WPM President, Guy Wyser-Pratte. "Not only is the decision unsupportable, but it contradicts a higher court ruling in Duisburg," said Wyser-Pratte. That earlier ruling prevented any further sale of HDW pending shareholder approval and blocks the original sale to OEP until all court appeals have been completed. "We remain confident the lower court decision will be overturned and that the Duisburg ruling will prevail," added Wyser-Pratte. German lawyers for WPM were a bit perplexed per·plexed adj. 1. Filled with confusion or bewilderment; puzzled. 2. Full of complications or difficulty; involved. [Middle English, from perplex, confused by the ruling which seemed to create significant uncertainty over the standards to be applied in seeking approval from shareholders in Germany. It could have implications for investors worried about transparency and shareholder rights in the country. "We are astounded a·stound tr.v. a·stound·ed, a·stound·ing, a·stounds To astonish and bewilder. See Synonyms at surprise. [From Middle English astoned, past participle of astonen, that the Oberhausen court could rule that a sale of HDW, which constitutes the primary, profit-generating business of Babcock, is not a material transaction subject to shareholder review," said Dr. Thomas Heidel, an attorney with Meilicke Hoffmann & Partner in Bonn, Germany. "We are optimistic op·ti·mist n. 1. One who usually expects a favorable outcome. 2. A believer in philosophical optimism. op the Duisburg court will reconfirm re·con·firm tr.v. re·con·firmed, re·con·firm·ing, re·con·firms To confirm again, especially to establish or support more firmly: reconfirmed the reservations. its earlier decision and direct that the HDW transaction receive due consideration by shareholders. The court has already said that the Holzmuller Principle (a German law that sets forth various standards for seeking shareholder approval) does apply," concluded Dr. Heidel. WPM is a Manhattan based investment fund manager. Contact Guy Wyser-Pratte or Kurt Schacht@ Wyser-Pratte & Co. 212/495-5350. Meilicke Hoffman is a law firm based in Bonn, Germany. Contact Thomas Heidel at 49 228 72 54321. |
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