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(Text/Pan Yuchen, editor/Gao Xin) According to a Reuters report on August 17, German battery maker Varta said that after several days of intense negotiations, it had reached a restructuring agreement with creditors to introduce Porsche to save its troubled business.

According to the agreement, Michael Tojner, the current major investor of Varta, will provide Varta with a 30 million euro (about 236 million yuan) priority secured loan through his MT Investment Company and Porsche. Porsche and MT Investment Company will each hold 32% of the shares of Varta's battery department V4Drive, and other investors will hold the remaining 36% of the shares.

As a result, Varta's debt will be reduced from 485 million euros (about 3.826 billion yuan) to 200 million euros (about 1.578 billion yuan). Porsche will also obtain high-performance batteries for electric vehicles from Varta through capital injection.

Battery produced by Varta Reuters

Lutz Meschke, deputy chairman of the executive board of Porsche AG, said that by acquiring a stake in V4Drive, Porsche will be able to keep key technologies in Germany.

In addition, Varta may also introduce a third investor. Varta CEO Michael Ostermann said that in-depth discussions are underway with other interested investors.

Varta is a German battery manufacturer that produces industrial and consumer-grade battery products in addition to automotive batteries. Its business is distributed in more than 100 countries and regions, with annual global sales exceeding 800 million euros (approximately RMB 6.312 billion).

In July this year, due to high debt, Ostermann announced a thorough bankruptcy reorganization of Varta. Varta Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Marc Hundsdorf said that with the conclusion of the restructuring agreement, the company's financing and liquidity have been stably guaranteed in the long term.

Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid Porsche

Ostermann also said that the company has no plans for large-scale layoffs. Varta will retain all its manufacturing bases in Germany and will only "moderately" layoffs. In addition, Varta hopes to achieve growth in battery storage for photovoltaic systems and button batteries for Apple headphones, and recruit employees in the above areas. Through the above measures, Varta will return to the path of profitable growth.

As a new shareholder of Varta, Porsche is facing a critical period of transformation to electric vehicles. Currently, Porsche has a total of pure electric Taycan, Macan, hybrid Cayenne, Panamera and other new energy models on sale. Among them, the 911 Carrera GTS uses the high-capacity lithium-ion battery pack produced by Varta. Previously, Porsche had planned to increase the proportion of electric models to 80% by 2030. However, due to poor market performance, Porsche no longer regarded this plan as a specific goal in July this year.

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