The renowned stevedoring enterprise Carl Tiedemann, Hamburg, is insolvent. The managing director of the long-established company, founded in 1879, which is well known for loading and securing freight on ships, filed for insolvency at the district court in Hamburg last week. Tjark Thies of law firm Reimer Rechtsanwälte was appointed as the preliminary insolvency administrator.
In 2006, Carl Tiedemann GmbH & Co. KG issued a series of profit-participation certificates. The company promoted and guaranteed a 7.75% p.a. rate of return. With capital of 2.5 million euros accumulated through the participation certificates, the company intended to extend existing installations and invest substantially into markets in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Switzerland and the Mediterranean region.
“Profit participation rights grant the right to a share of a company’s profit. An investor acquires so-called profit participation certificates, which are denominated as participation rights capital. In Germany, profit participation rights are issued by banks and saving banks, as well as by insurance and service companies”, explains the Hamburg lawyer Dr. Ina Becker.
“Profit participation certificates can be traded on the stock market. In many cases they are bearer instruments and represent a mixture of both equity and debt. You could see them as a hybrid form of a share and bonds issue”, continues Dr. Becker.
The holder of profit participation rights is legally entitled to the repayment of the capital invested at the end of the maturity term. Investors who purchased profit participation rights in the insolvent company should seek legal advice on possible courses of action as quickly as possible, recommends legal expert Dr. Ina Becker, Hamburg.