Hi all,
Not the most current News but still interesting to see the local perspective. 
NN said:
Nürnberger Nachrichten, Dec. 22, 2006LGB-Producer EPL saved.
Private investor Schöntag assumes responsibility of the financially stricken company and all employees.
The Nürnberg LGB - model railway producer Ernst Paul Lehmann Patentwerk has been saved. Insolvency trustee Dr. Steffen Goede confirmed that Hermann Schöntag will assume responsibility for the financially stricken company on Jan. 1. 2007 and restructuring will preserve all the jobs.
The group of creditors along with the financial institutions decided against industry leader Märklin, who had shown keen interest on a takeover of EPL. The main reason Märklin struck out was the announcement of the Göppingen company that a takeover would result in drastic job reductions at EPL.
In mid-Sept the owners of EPL - the Richter family, in the fourth generation of managing the enterprise, who had built the “LGB” name to the leading position in the Large Scale world market - had to declare insolvency. Affected were 150 employees.
The turnover had since 2004 sunk by one third to just above 20 million Euro. The LGB producer failed to lower costs sufficiently despite economy measures to match the sagging turnover. In addition there were large borrowings driving the enterprise to the wall. The debts of slightly less than 20 million Euro reached almost the level of the annual turnover.
The insolvency trustee, appointed by the Nürnberg insolvency court, attempted right from the start to find a buyer for the company as a complete entity. The interested parties included a range from financial investors to midsize enterprises to private interest like the wealthy Hermann Schöntag.
Schöntag has a reputation in the railway sector. In Nov 2004 he took over the Rügen Railway , badly in need of a reorganization, complete with the employed staff. Schöntag was also, for a considerable time, the publisher of the monthly “Modelleisenbahner” (Modelrailroader) magazine.
Investor moves to Nürnberg
Insolvency trustee Goede declared that the new owner’s plans include his move to Nürnberg, preservation of the production location and his hands on management of the operation. The insolvency trustee mentioned no specific price other than solely declaring “Mr. Schöntag pays a sum in the millions”. The employees have already been informed of the new ownership; according to Goede, they fully supported the decision.
This would have most likely been different with Märklin. Märklin was not necessarily the favourite in Nürnberg, since they left deep marks at smaller scale producer Trix. Märklin acquired Trix in 1997, three years of “business as usual” were followed by severe cutbacks at the money losing location. The management consulting firm of McKinsey was retained and developed a plan that proposed a job reduction of 125 from the previous 220. Today there remain 65 jobs at Trix. “And what would have prevented Märklin from doing the same at LGB” one asked in Altenfurth.
The job reductions Märklin proposed at LGB were apparently one of several points of contention which delayed the bidding negotiations. The pool of lending banks - Hofer Delmora Bank, Nürnberg Savings Bank, Dresdner Bank, Deutsche Bank and IKB (German Industrial Bank) - were “not pulling on the same rope, or at least not in the same direction” was the comment in banking circles. The insolvency trustee made explicit mention of Nürnberg Savings Bank’s significant efforts to preserve the enterprise.
Klaus Wonneberger