“Interessengemeinschaft Hochwang” Association Takes Over The Majority Share Of 78.3% Of Sportbahnen Hochwang AG

An important step for the restart of Hochwang has been achieved!  The “Interessengemeinschaft Hochwang” (IGH) association took over the majority share of 78.3% of Sportbahnen Hochwang AG (SBH AG) from the private anchor shareholders.

At the subsequent extraordinary general meeting of SBH AG, the board of directors was elected. Under the leadership of President Peter Beeli, Karin Manser, Rico Frischknecht, Svein Andresen, Alex Studer and Patric Iten (previously) will take on responsibility for SBH AG with immediate effect.

The Board of Directors was also commissioned to carry out the capital increase, which was made possible due to the calls for donations in recent months. The desired goal was achieved: to date, CHF 835,000 in pledges have been received from 240 donors and share subscribers. In addition, the municipality of Arosa has decided to subscribe to new shares worth CHF 160,000 and thus maintain its stake of around 20%. The remaining approximately 80% is divided approximately equally between IGH and the direct shareholders.

It was also possible to significantly reduce SBH AG's debts: in negotiations with the previous private anchor shareholders, a partial waiver of the loans was achieved; the other part is converted into share capital. The municipality of Arosa also agreed to convert its outstanding claim into shares. Apart from a current mortgage, no loans remain in the company. With the expected capital base of around CHF 1.5 million, SBH AG will have a solid basis for the restart.

The Board of Directors will immediately begin billing the promised financial resources. The goal is to have the capital increase completed by mid-April 2024. This is urgently needed: Sportbahnen Hochwang AG's liquid assets have practically been used up. With the capital increase, the company will be able to act again in order to tackle the preparatory and repair work. Every franc goes directly to the railways.

The Board of Directors now looks to the future with respect but confidence. Without the great support from Hochwang fans, supporters and donors, the restart would not be possible. It is very important to the new board of directors to warmly thank the previous anchor shareholders, in particular Alex Jenny, Michael Zindel and Peter Schaub. They have generously, committedly and transparently campaigned for a new start in Hochwang. A big thank you also goes to the community of Arosa for the constructive cooperation, to the administrative boards Patric Iten and Markus Blass and to everyone who is involved in the Hochwang restart in some way.