Pierre, Mateschitz and RLB plan to join Rosenbauer

According to the business magazine Trend, the entry into the firefighting equipment supplier will be carried out through an offshore investment limited liability company. Rosenbauer announced a capital increase this year.

Stefan Bierer, Mark Mateschitz and Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich (RLB OÖ) appear to be planning to join troubled fire brigade supplier Rosenbauer, based in Leonding. A decision to raise capital was made in May; Robau Beteiligungsverwaltung GmbH, founded by Red Bull heir Mateschitz, Pierre and two companies linked to RLB, could acquire 3.4 million shares, according to the business magazine “Trend” in its issue published on Friday.

A spokesperson for RLB OÖ confirmed APA's intention without comment, and the request to Pierer Mobility remains unanswered at the moment. Rosenbauer told APA that there are no new facts and no new decisions. “We are working on raising capital and that should be done this year.”

High debt

Robau is based at Pierer Mobility's headquarters in Wales. If the new shares are sold in one block to an investor, he will have a third of the shares in the fire equipment supplier, according to the “trend.” The business magazine sees that Pierer & Co has already reached the majority.

Rosenbauer suffers from high debt burdens; Net financial debt recently reached 428 million euros. Berrer, who is also president of Austria's top industrial association, founded his own company with Mateschitz in which their Robau shares were pooled: PiMa Beteiligungsverwaltung GmbH. The managing directors were Berrer himself and his long-time confidant Friedrich Reuthner.

Last year, Rosenbauer returned to the black. Profits were plus 1.2 million euros, after being minus 22.3 million euros the previous year, the company announced in April. The operating result (EBIT) also turned positive again at €37.5 million, after a loss of €10.6 million in 2022. (APA)