PRESS RELEASE

Weng Fine Art AG announces voluntary public acquisition offer to the shareholders of artnet AG

Berlin, 20 September 2022. On 19 September 2022, Weng Fine Art AG ("Bidder") published its decision to launch a voluntary public acquisition offer to the shareholders of artnet AG ("artnet") for a number of shares in artnet ("artnet Shares") to be determined by the Bidder ("Offer"). The Offer is not intended to reach the 30% control threshold of voting rights pursuant to Section 29 of the German Securities Acquisition and Takeover Act. It is, therefore, not a takeover offer, but merely an offer to acquire a maximum of around 4.41% of the artnet Shares, since – according to the last voting rights notification of Mr. Rüdiger K. Weng dated 29 December 2021 – the Bidder and Rüdiger K. Weng A+A GmbH already hold 25.59% of the voting rights in artnet. In addition, the Offer shall be made subject to the terms and conditions to be determined in the offer document of the Bidder.

The Bidder intends to offer the shareholders of artnet a cash consideration in the amount of EUR 7.20 per artnet Share. The three-month volume-weighted average price of the artnet Shares (XETRA) prior to the Bidder’s announcement of the Offer amounts to EUR 7.71 (source: Bloomberg), which is 7.08% higher than the announced offer price. The premium offered by the Bidder to the last closing price of the artnet Share (XETRA) of EUR 6.88 prior to the announcement of the Offer amounts to only 4.65%.

The Management Board and the Supervisory Board of artnet will carefully review the Offer after its publication and will issue a reasoned statement in accordance with their legal obligations after the offer document has been submitted by the Bidder. The reasoned statement will be published on artnet’s homepage at www.artnet.com/investor-relations/. Shareholders of artnet are asked not to take any action until this reasoned statement has been published.

Contact:

Sophie Neuendorf
artnet AG
Oranienstraße 164
10969 Berlin
Germany

Phone: +49 (0)30 20 91 78 20
Facsimile: +49 (0)30 20 91 78 29

E-mail:
[email protected]
[email protected]

About artnet:

Artnet has an unparalleled 55 million unique users annually, making it the largest global platform for fine art. Founded in 1989, Artnet has revolutionized the way people discover, research, and collect art today. Artnet’s market data is a mission-critical resource for the art industry, encompassing more than 15 million auction results and AI- and ML-driven analytics providing an unparalleled level of transparency and insight into the art market. Artnet’s marketplace connects leading galleries and auction houses with our global audience, offering a curated selection of over 250,000 artworks for sale worldwide. Artnet Auctions, the pioneering online-only auction platform, offers unprecedented reach, liquidity, and efficiency. Artnet News covers the events, trends, and people shaping the global art market with up-to-the-minute analysis and expert commentary. It is the single most-read  news publication in the fine art industry, with a rapidly growing, and dedicated audience. Together, Artnet’s broad synergistic product offering provides a comprehensive ecosystem that drives and informs the modern art market.

Artnet AG is listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the segment with the highest transparency standards. The majority of operations are headquartered in New York at its  wholly-owned subsidiary, Artnet Worldwide Corporation, a New York based entity founded in 1989. Artnet Worldwide Corp. owns a London based subsidiary, Artnet UK Ltd.