Weng Fine Art AG and Artnet AG agree on voluntary special audit for Artnet

8 Dez. 2021 / Pressemitteilungen

With a share of over 25% of the voting rights, Weng Fine Art AG (WFA) is, alongside the founding Neuendorf family, the largest shareholder of Artnet AG. This makes it an associated company within the WFA Group. In recent years, accusations have been made that the Neuendorf family has managed the business of Artnet AG primarily in its own interests and not in those of all shareholders. One of the factors contributing to this suspicion has been the company's weak earnings performance over the past twenty years since it was first listed on the stock exchange. In order to have this issue examined by a neutral body, the two largest shareholders of Artnet AG have now agreed to have a voluntary special audit carried out in 2022, which is intended to clarify various facts from the past ten years. The supervisory boards of Artnet AG and Weng Fine Art AG have agreed to this compromise. After the presentation of the audit report, WFA will decide how to proceed further and whether the company will increase its share in Artnet AG.

 

WFA chairman Rüdiger K. Weng on Artnet and the voluntary special audit: "We are following Artnet's involvement in the edition and NFT business, in which we have already been active for some time. We see potential synergy effects there. We also expect that Artnet will not only be able to increase sales in the future, but will also be able to generate earnings, especially if we can exert a lasting influence on Artnet AG's strategy and operations. We will closely monitor the company’s development in the upcoming months and study the audit report before making any further decisions – also regarding the "reorganization" of the Supervisory Board and management next year, but probably also of our shareholding in general."