German shipbuilder Meyer Werft has changed its corporate structure with the recent appointment of a new, co-determined supervisory board.
This measure is part of the stabilisation and restructuring plan agreed between the new shareholders from the federal and state governments, the Meyer family, and the financing banks. The final conditions for the completion of the participation of the federal and state governments in the companies have thus been implemented.
Following antitrust approval by the EU Commission at the beginning of December 2024, the entry of the federal and state governments as shareholders, each with around 40 per cent of the shares and an investment of €200 million (US$206 million) each, was completed on December 19, 2024.
A central component of the restructuring plan is the appointment of a co-determined supervisory board to ensure the future viability of Meyer Werft.
The supervisory board will consist of representatives of the shareholders, employees and external experts. Jan Meyer will be a family representative on the Supervisory Board. The employee side will be represented by Thomas Gelder, Andreas Hensen, Heiko Messerschmidt (IG Metall coastal district), Thomas Behrens (Chairman of the Neptun Werft works council), Denise Sassen (ND Coatings) and Yvonne Lammers, a senior employee at the shipyard.
Patricia Geibel-Conrad (auditor) and Christian von Lenthe (lawyer) will be delegated to the supervisory board on behalf of the German federal government. The state of Lower Saxony will be represented by Economics Minister Olaf Lies and business lawyer Anne Deter from the Green Ministry of Finance. In addition, Klaus Richter has been appointed as a further member of the supervisory board and is proposed as Chairman of the 12-member body.
The constituent meeting of the new supervisory board took place on Friday, January 31.
The supervisory board will be responsible for appointing and advising the management board, monitoring its activities and participating in its decisions. In addition, the supervisory board will examine the annual financial statements, the management report, and the proposal for the appropriation of the company's profits. The management of Meyer Werft is obliged to regularly inform the supervisory board about the company's business policy and development.