Shareholders approve all agenda items at annual general meeting of Partners Group Holding AG
Press release
Baar-Zug, 30 April 2009
- Approval annual report 2008
The shareholders approved the annual report, the consolidated financial statements and the statutory financial statements for the financial year 2008.
- Use and allocation of earnings
The shareholders approved the payment of a dividend of CHF 4.25 per share on 6 May 2009.
- Management compensation report
The shareholders approved the compensation paid to members of the board of directors and the executive board for the financial year 2008.
- Share buyback and capital reduction
The shareholders approved the establishment of a second trading line for the potential repurchase of shares of the company. Alfred Gantner, Executive Chairman of Partners Group, commented, “We currently see a higher focus amongst institutional investors on stability and quality of their private markets asset managers. Our highly stable partnership and global team of over 340 employees in ten offices around the world position us ideally to further profit from this structural change in the industry. We are of the opinion that at certain times over the last twelve months the market has not fully recognized Partners Group's highly competitive position. The second trading line will be established as a tool for efficient capital management of the firm going forward. In particular, it will give us the opportunity to make more significant purchases of our own shares in case of an unexpected substantial drop of the share price and therefore would improve earnings per share for our shareholders.”
- Discharge of the board of directors and executive board
The shareholders granted discharge to the members of the board of directors and the executive board for their activities during the financial year 2008.
- Elections to the board of directors
According to the best practice code for corporate governance, a member of the board with tenure of over 10 years no longer qualifies as independent. Thus, Robert Schenker, who has been a member of the board of directors since 1998, resigned from his post today one year before the expiration of his current term. The board of directors wishes to express its sincere appreciation to Robert Schenker for his valuable guidance on the cultural development of the firm and his instrumental role in the continued strengthening of the internal control systems, the risk management and the risk reporting.
Robert Schenker commented, “What I respected most in more than ten years as a board member of Partners Group Holding AG is the company's successful culture of striking a credible balance between professional excellence, customer satisfaction and shareholder expectations on the one hand, and values such as family and society interests on the other.”
Dr. Peter Wuffli was elected to the board of directors for an initial term of one year to replace Robert Schenker and will be proposed for re-election for a next term of three years at the annual general meeting 2010. In addition, Urs Wietlisbach and Dr. Wolfgang Zürcher were re-elected to the board of directors for terms of three years each.
- Election of the group and statutory auditors
The shareholders confirmed KPMG AG as group and statutory auditors for a further term of one year.
Steffen Meister, CEO of Partners Group, added, “As previously communicated, we expect a broadly stable development of our financial figures this year despite the continued highly challenging market environment, further underlining the significant stability of our business. We continue to see solid demand for our investment programs and expect sustained asset inflows. However, assets under management growth will be affected by further redemptions and performance effects, expected to result overall in rather limited changes of assets under management for 2009.”
All agenda items and proposals of the board of directors are published in detail on the website of the company at www.partnersgroup.com.
About Partners Group
Partners Group is a global alternative asset management firm with over CHF 24 billion in investment programs under management in private equity, private debt, private real estate, private infrastructure, absolute return strategies and listed alternatives. The firm manages a broad range of funds, structured products and customized portfolios for an international clientele of institutional investors, private banks and other financial institutions. Partners Group is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland and has offices in San Francisco, New York, London, Guernsey, Luxembourg, Singapore, Beijing, Tokyo and Sydney. The firm employs over 340 people, is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (symbol: PGHN) with a market capitalization of over CHF 2.5 billion and majority owned by its 38 Partners and all employees.
Investor relations contact:
Dr. Cyrill Wipfli, Partner
Business Strategy & Corporate Development
Phone: +41 41 768 85 71
E-mail: [email protected]
Media relations contact:
Tamara Krebs
Communications
Phone: +41 41 768 85 26
E-mail: [email protected]
Press release
Baar-Zug, 30 April 2009
- Approval annual report 2008
The shareholders approved the annual report, the consolidated financial statements and the statutory financial statements for the financial year 2008.
- Use and allocation of earnings
The shareholders approved the payment of a dividend of CHF 4.25 per share on 6 May 2009.
- Management compensation report
The shareholders approved the compensation paid to members of the board of directors and the executive board for the financial year 2008.
- Share buyback and capital reduction
The shareholders approved the establishment of a second trading line for the potential repurchase of shares of the company. Alfred Gantner, Executive Chairman of Partners Group, commented, “We currently see a higher focus amongst institutional investors on stability and quality of their private markets asset managers. Our highly stable partnership and global team of over 340 employees in ten offices around the world position us ideally to further profit from this structural change in the industry. We are of the opinion that at certain times over the last twelve months the market has not fully recognized Partners Group's highly competitive position. The second trading line will be established as a tool for efficient capital management of the firm going forward. In particular, it will give us the opportunity to make more significant purchases of our own shares in case of an unexpected substantial drop of the share price and therefore would improve earnings per share for our shareholders.”
- Discharge of the board of directors and executive board
The shareholders granted discharge to the members of the board of directors and the executive board for their activities during the financial year 2008.
- Elections to the board of directors
According to the best practice code for corporate governance, a member of the board with tenure of over 10 years no longer qualifies as independent. Thus, Robert Schenker, who has been a member of the board of directors since 1998, resigned from his post today one year before the expiration of his current term. The board of directors wishes to express its sincere appreciation to Robert Schenker for his valuable guidance on the cultural development of the firm and his instrumental role in the continued strengthening of the internal control systems, the risk management and the risk reporting.
Robert Schenker commented, “What I respected most in more than ten years as a board member of Partners Group Holding AG is the company's successful culture of striking a credible balance between professional excellence, customer satisfaction and shareholder expectations on the one hand, and values such as family and society interests on the other.”
Dr. Peter Wuffli was elected to the board of directors for an initial term of one year to replace Robert Schenker and will be proposed for re-election for a next term of three years at the annual general meeting 2010. In addition, Urs Wietlisbach and Dr. Wolfgang Zürcher were re-elected to the board of directors for terms of three years each.
- Election of the group and statutory auditors
The shareholders confirmed KPMG AG as group and statutory auditors for a further term of one year.
Steffen Meister, CEO of Partners Group, added, “As previously communicated, we expect a broadly stable development of our financial figures this year despite the continued highly challenging market environment, further underlining the significant stability of our business. We continue to see solid demand for our investment programs and expect sustained asset inflows. However, assets under management growth will be affected by further redemptions and performance effects, expected to result overall in rather limited changes of assets under management for 2009.”
All agenda items and proposals of the board of directors are published in detail on the website of the company at www.partnersgroup.com.
About Partners Group
Partners Group is a global alternative asset management firm with over CHF 24 billion in investment programs under management in private equity, private debt, private real estate, private infrastructure, absolute return strategies and listed alternatives. The firm manages a broad range of funds, structured products and customized portfolios for an international clientele of institutional investors, private banks and other financial institutions. Partners Group is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland and has offices in San Francisco, New York, London, Guernsey, Luxembourg, Singapore, Beijing, Tokyo and Sydney. The firm employs over 340 people, is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (symbol: PGHN) with a market capitalization of over CHF 2.5 billion and majority owned by its 38 Partners and all employees.
Investor relations contact:
Dr. Cyrill Wipfli, Partner
Business Strategy & Corporate Development
Phone: +41 41 768 85 71
E-mail: [email protected]
Media relations contact:
Tamara Krebs
Communications
Phone: +41 41 768 85 26
E-mail: [email protected]