ESPG AG launches restructuring project according to StaRUG due to impending insolvency

Publication of inside information pursuant to Article 17 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014

ESPG AG launches restructuring project according to StaRUG due to impending insolvency

• Management Board and Supervisory Board of ESPG AG resolve to file a restructuring plan pursuant to StaRUG due to impending insolvency
• Restructuring plan to provide for the creditors of the 2018/2026 bond to waive all claims under the bond in return for appropriate compensation; interest payment on 1 October 2024 to be cancelled
• Investors commit fresh liquidity of around EUR 9.5 million to secure the company's continued existence in the event that the restructuring plan becomes legally effective

Cologne, 10 September 2024 The Management Board and Supervisory Board of ESPG AG (“ESPG” or “Company”) have resolved to file a restructuring plan with the competent local court in accordance with the German Act on the Stabilisation and Restructuring Framework for Businesses (StaRUG).

The resolutions were passed in light of the fact that all options pursued to finance the interest payment on the 2018/2026 bond due on 1 October 2024 have not yet been successfully implemented and the Management Board is no longer pursuing them. The Company is therefore at risk of insolvency, and the Management Board and Supervisory Board see the notification and implementation of StaRUG proceedings as the only remaining option for the successful restructuring of ESPG.

The restructuring plan shall include a waiver by the bondholders of all claims arising from the bond in return for appropriate compensation. A potential participation of the bondholders in the Company's future success will also be considered. It is planned to submit the restructuring plan to the court in the short term with the objective that its provisions will take effect by the end of October 2024. The interest payment on the 2018/2026 bond due on 1 October 2024 will no longer be made.

Subject to certain conditions, in particular the legal effectiveness of the restructuring plan, investors have already pledged to provide fresh liquidity of around EUR 9.5 million to secure the Company's continued existence.

The Company will inform the capital market and the public about the progress of the restructuring measures and the further course of the process in accordance with the legal requirements.