NOT INTENDED FOR DIRECT OR INDIRECT PUBLICATION, RELEASE OR DISTRIBUTION IN OR WITHIN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, CANADA OR JAPAN

Electro Mobility Pioneer Voltabox AG Plans to Go Public in Autumn 2017

- Fast-growing producer of lithium-ion based battery systems seeks to list on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange as early as autumn 2017

- New shares to come mainly from a capital increase; parent company paragon AG will remain majority shareholder, with approximately 40% in free float post-IPO

- Voltabox will benefit directly from the trend towards electro mobility as a pure play provider

- Strong growth outlook with an order backlog of more than EUR 800 million

- Technology leader intends to use IPO proceeds for accelerating growth and accessing additional lucrative specialty markets in industrial applications as well as selected mass-market segments

- IPO also creates financial flexibility for value-add acquisitions

Delbrück, 11 September 2017 - Voltabox AG, a fast growing system provider for electro mobility in industrial applications, plans an initial public offering (IPO) in the regulated market (Prime Standard) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange this autumn.

Voltabox's core competencies are innovative lithium-ion based battery systems for industrial use in demanding market segments with strong market potential. The systems are currently used in forklifts, mining vehicles, and trolley buses for local public transportation as well as automated guided vehicles. Voltabox also develops and manufactures high-quality lithium-ion batteries for selected mass-market applications, currently with a special focus on starter batteries for high-performance motorcycles. Voltabox's core competencies also include battery management, which increases the efficiency, performance and safety of battery systems.

Revenues expected to quadruple within the next two years

"Its ground-breaking role in sustainable mobility has given Voltabox an excellent position in the industry. As a pioneer for high-performance battery systems, we focus on applications with strong margins and have a significant technological edge over our competitors," says Klaus D. Frers, Chairman of the Voltabox AG Supervisory Board and CEO of parent company paragon AG. "The IPO will boost our growth. It will give Voltabox the strategic and financial flexibility to quickly grow into a new dimension."

"We have a strong growth outlook with a current order backlog of over EUR 800 million," says Jürgen Pampel, CEO of Voltabox AG. "Over the next two years alone, we want to quadruple our revenues. Our modular approach makes our business model highly scalable, which enables us to very quickly launch new and complex applications in high-margin specialty markets."

Even today, Voltabox works for top clients from different industries including Kiepe Electric (Knorr Bremse), Triathlon Batterien, Komatsu Mining, KUKA and BMW. Strategic partnerships with established companies from different sectors serve as attractive door openers and supply the company with recurring revenues during the entire term of the contracts.

Voltabox intends to build on its positive development and leverage the supportive market environment in order to continue accessing new markets and further grow in terms of revenues and earnings. Future business opportunities lie mainly in agricultural applications, construction vehicles, municipal utility vehicles and ground support equipment. Promising growth segments in the mass market include starter batteries for sports cars and 48 Volt mild hybrid applications. The company also plans to expand vertically into performance electronics and electric engines in order to become a turnkey solutions provider. This will enable Voltabox to keep making a lasting contribution to shaping the future of electro mobility.

Lithium-ion technology on the rise globally

The lithium-ion technology used by Voltabox is a key element for substituting internal combustion engines with electric engines. Its competitive edge over other battery technology comes mainly from its energy density, greater safety, comparatively low production costs and the globally available production capacities. Lithium-ion based batteries will also replace most lead-acid batteries particularly in industrial applications.

It is estimated that the battery market for lithium-ion applications will grow to about USD 185 billion by 2026 (base year 2016: about USD 43 billion). This will significantly increase Voltabox's market potential. As of today, the overall opportunity in Voltabox's current markets amounts to about EUR 3 billion (as at: 2016). Together with the markets Voltabox intends to access with its products going forward, the company anticipates a market potential of over EUR 100 billion by 2027.

The development towards electro mobility and the strongly growing demand for lithium-ion battery systems is driven by increasing environmental awareness and megatrends such as urbanisation, electrification and industry 4.0. The European Commission, for instance, intends to bring greenhouse gas emissions down by 40 percent compared to 1990 until 2030. This effort will affect passenger cars but also many specialty vehicles. Additional plans include reducing the use of lead-acid batteries. Voltabox expects demand for innovative lithium-ion battery systems to grow strongly on the back of increasing regulation. This is further magnified by another trend: urbanisation. Almost two thirds of the close to 10 billion people on this planet will likely live in cities in 2050. This increase will require efficient and eco-friendly public transportation systems that will make greater use of lithium-ion batteries. Last but not least, enhanced battery and storage technologies contribute significantly to greater manufacturing productivity and efficiency and, as such, to the industry 4.0 megatrend.

Fast, cost-efficient and solution-oriented

Voltabox's systems are already used across the globe. As a provider of lithium-ion based battery systems, Voltabox's leading market position relies on four main strengths. First of all, Voltabox's pioneering role in high-performance battery systems has given the company a competitive edge it secures by emphasising research and development. Secondly, Voltabox develops and manufactures products swiftly and cost-efficiently based on a modular approach. This enables the company to quickly implement and bring to market new and complex applications. Thirdly, Voltabox carefully considers the client's intended use and creates optimal solutions for each individual application. This adds value for clients. Finally, Voltabox can produce cost-efficiently and reliably for the mass market. The battery systems are being manufactured in highly automated processes in Delbrück (North-Rhine Westphalia/Germany) and Austin (Texas/USA). From these locations, the company ships to clients across all of Europe and North America.

The company is organised into three business segments. The battery systems for industrial use are being developed and manufactured in the Voltapower segment. The Voltaforce segment produces high-quality lithium-ion batteries for the mass market, including starter batteries for performance motorcycles and sports vehicles as well as battery systems for 48 Volt Mild hybrid applications. The Voltamotion segment is currently home to the research and development centre in Aachen where the company designs electric drivetrain systems and intends to become a turnkey solution provider. The Voltamotion products are still being developed and will likely be brought to market from 2018 onwards.

Strong order book indicates continued growth

The growth outlook is good with orders in the amount of about EUR 805 million on Voltabox's books in mid-2017. The intra-logistics sector accounts for slightly more than half and the mining sector for approximately one quarter of all orders, while the remainder comes mainly from batteries for local public transportation and starter batteries for motorcycles. Over the next two years alone, Voltabox wants to quadruple revenues, which translates into expectations to generate approximately EUR 100 million in 2019.

Over the past financial year, Voltabox's sales revenues amounted to EUR 14.5 million - which compares to already EUR 10.6 million over the first six months of 2017. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) improved from EUR -1.5 million in the first half of the previous year to EUR -0.7 million in the first half of 2017 (full year 2016: EUR -3.7 million). In June 2017, Voltabox also succeeded in generating positive EBIT for the first time. CFO Andres Klasing explains: "Revenues almost doubled each year since the Voltabox spin-off from paragon AG in 2014. For the full year 2017, we expect revenues in the order of EUR 25 million and positive EBIT."

IPO to finance next growth spurt

With the IPO, Voltabox intends to build the foundation for its future development by quickly expanding its market position. Thus Voltabox seeks to list on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in autumn 2017. The proceeds from the planned IPO are to support the continued systematic development of Voltabox's products, the expansion of its production capacities and the repayment of a shareholder loan to its parent company paragon AG. Importantly, they are also expected to give Voltabox greater flexibility for additional external growth through attractive acquisitions. The company plans to issue 5 million new shares plus a greenshoe option of 0.825 million shares from a capital increase. Additionally, another 0.5 million shares currently owned by paragon AG are to be placed. paragon AG will continue to hold the majority of Voltabox's share capital and will remain the company's majority shareholder, a role it does not intend to relinquish in the foreseeable future. The expected post-IPO free float will be approximately 40%.

Bankhaus Lampe KG will be the sole global coordinator in the IPO and acts as joint book runner alongside Hauck & Aufhäuser Privatbankiers AG.

Disclaimer

This publication does not constitute an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for any securities. No offer of securities of the Voltabox AG is being, or will be, made to the public outside Germany and Luxembourg. A prospective offer in Germany and Luxembourg would be made exclusively by means of a securities prospectus to be published and filed with the German Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin). Such securities prospectus would at the appropriate time be made available free of charge at Voltabox AG.

The offering will consist of a public offering in Germany and Luxembourg as well as private placements in certain other jurisdictions outside of Germany and Luxembourg including in the United States of America under Regulation S of the Securities Act from 1933, as amended, (the "Securities Act") as well as to qualified institutional buyers in the U.S.A. under Rule 144A of the Securities Act.

Statements contained herein may constitute "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by the use of the words "may", "will", "should", "plan", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate," "believe", "intend", "project", "goal" or "target" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology.

Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the Group's or its industry's actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and the Group does not undertake publicly to update or revise any forward-looking statement that may be made herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Voltabox AG

Voltabox is a high-growth system provider for e-mobility in industrial applications. Its core business lies in intrinsically safe, highly developed high-performance lithium-ion batteries that are modular and in serial production. The battery systems are used in buses for public transportation, forklifts, automated guided vehicles and mining vehicles. The company also develops and produces high-quality lithium-ion batteries for selected mass market applications, such as high performance motorcycles. Voltabox has production sites at its headquarters in Delbrück, Germany, and in Austin, Texas, as well as a development site in Aachen, Germany. Additional information about Voltabox can be found at www.voltabox.ag/en/.

Contacts

Voltabox AG

Dr Kai Holtmann
Artegastraße 1
D-33129 Delbrueck
Phone: +49 (0) 52 50 - 99 30-964
Fax: +49 (0) 52 50 - 99 30-901
E-Mail: kai.holtmann@voltabox.ag