In connection with the current criticism of the sale of ÖBAG's stake in VAMED, ÖBAG believes it would be desirable if the political discussion conducted during the pre-election period were based on facts, explained ÖBAG board member Edith Hlawati.

VAMED has been privately owned since 1996. As part of the privatization mandate of the Austrian federal government under Chancellor Vranitzky, ÖIAG sold 77 percent to Fresenius, a DAX-listed stock corporation, and a further 10 percent to the then Bank Austria, now B&C Foundation. Fresenius held a call option for the remaining 13 percent of ÖIAG, exercisable at any time, the exercise price of which was fixed in 1996. With its minority stake, ÖBAG, which was not represented on the supervisory board, had no influence under corporate law on the decisions of the majority owner, Fresenius.

The acquisition of ÖBAG's remaining stake in Fresenius was neither a trigger nor a prerequisite for VAMED's current sale of the rehabilitation clinics to PAI. A reversal of the transaction would therefore not change anything.

Although majority-owned by private owners, there has been no public criticism of the management standards or ownership structure of VAMED's rehabilitation centers since privatization in 1996. Incidentally, almost 70% of Austrian rehabilitation centers are privately owned.

In recent years, Fresenius has repeatedly had to inject millions of euros in liquidity into VAMED to ensure its continued existence. The German government did not contribute financially to these grants.