Wacker took the subsidiary public in 2015 and in 2017 reduced its shareholding to the current level.  “Since we became a minority shareholder in Siltronic in 2017, we have repeatedly expressed our intention to sell our remaining stake in the medium-to-long term,” the Munich company’spresident and CEO, Rudolf Staudigl, noted.

Explaining the rationale for the sale at this time, Staudigl sad “Siltronic has performed extremely well over the last few years, it enjoys a strong position in the global semiconductor-wafer market, has an excellent technology base and is highly profitable.”

The merger of Siltronic and GlobalWafers, the Wacker chief said, would create an industry leader that offers an extensive portfolio and can supply all semiconductor customers with cutting-edge products. He added that the companies complement each other in terms of both strategy and technology.

The sale agreement includes comprehensive guarantees for the sites operated by Siltronic, so that the company ”will essentially be able to maintain its existing business strategy and remain a reliable partner to the European semiconductor industry,“ Staudigl said.

Under the new owner, Wacker stressed,”the constructive collaboration” between management and employee representatives mandated by German law will remain intact. Beyond that, site closures and forced layoffs have been ruled out for the German workforce until the end of 2024.

Christian Hartel named new Wacker CEO

In other news, Christian Hartel has been named new CEO of Wacker Chemie succeeding Rudlof Staudigl, who will retire at the end of the next annual general meeting,which is scheduled for May 12, 2021.

Hartel, 49, is currently a member of the executive board with responsibility for overseeing Human Resources.

Also following the agm, Angela Wörl (53) will move up to the executive board to succeed Hartel in the personnel director position. Wörl, who is is currently head of Wacker’s Human Resources corporate department, will be the first woman on the company’s board.

Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist