PEH drops charges against Stefan Mayerhofer

ZUG, Switzerland, December 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

PEH Wertpapier AG is an independent asset manager based in Oberursel, Germany. Amongst its subsidiaries is the Luxembourg-based fund administrator, Axxion SA. On a group level, PEH manages EUR 4.5bn in client assets.

In July 2011 the company filed criminal charges against its former director, Stefan Mayerhofer, who had been dismissed from his post in November 2010. Among the accusations against him were breaches of confidentiality agreements; giving confidential information to non board member, Swen Lorenz, CEO of ARBB, a significant shareholder of the company.

These grave accusations have now been dropped entirely. Instead, the company will now pay Mayerhofer compensation, issue him with a top rate employment reference, and retract the criminal charges. Swen Lorenz had been called to the witness stand, and observers believe that PEH wanted to avoid him providing public testimony about the actual course of events.

Lorenz: "The accusations against Mayerhofer, which indirectly included accusations against me, were without any substance. I would have been delighted to stand witness in court, to finally shed light onto these matters. Right from the beginning it was clear that these accusations were solely designed to distract from the internal management crisis of the company. Instead, Mayerhofer, and to a degree I, were used as scapegoats.

Lorenz added: "Since 2010, I have repeatedly warned that the company's mangement had become, at best, complacent. The company now has to explain to shareholders how they justified spending large amounts of shareholder funds on legal battles. Judging from the company's share price, the market seems to have lost all confidence in the current Board."

Lorenz closed by stating: "The company has enormous potential to create additional value for shareholders in the current market environment, but only if there are changes.

Contact details:

ARBB AG
Swen Lorenz
Gotthardstr. 31
CH-6300 Zug
Phone: +41/41/728'73'36
Fax: +41/41/728'73'37
E-Mail: S.Lorenz@ARBB.ch 

SOURCE ARBB AG