BayWa Faces Double Blow: Auditors Quit and €1.7bn Asset Sale Collapses, Leaving Rescue Plan in Tatters
23.06.2026 - 18:06:18 | boerse-global.de
The €1.7bn revenue that BayWa had banked on from selling its renewable-energy arm BayWa r.e. has evaporated, torpedoing a restructuring blueprint that was already under intense pressure. The asset disposal — once considered the centrepiece of the group's financial recovery — now looks unfeasible, forcing the board back to the drawing board alongside the same financiers who are already nursing hefty write-downs. The revised plan, due by autumn 2026, will demand roughly €1bn in debt forgiveness from creditors, the elimination of around 1,300 jobs, and a targeted annual turnover of €10bn by 2028 — down sharply from previous forecasts.
Meanwhile, the company faces a deepening legal vortex. The Munich I public prosecutor's office is investigating former chief executives Klaus Josef Lutz and Marcus Pöllinger on suspicion of breach of trust and intentionally misrepresenting liquidity risks. In January 2026, investigators searched Lutz's private residence; his spokesman has stressed full cooperation with authorities. All accused benefit from the presumption of innocence. Simultaneously, the law firm TILP is preparing mass compensation claims on behalf of anyone who bought BayWa shares between January 2022 and January 2026.
The auditor situation has added another layer of opacity. PricewaterhouseCoopers, which issued an unqualified audit opinion for the 2023 management report despite a BaFin reprimand over omitted details on a billion-euro loan and refinancing risks on a €500m bond, is being replaced. BayWa's supervisory board will recommend KPMG as auditor for the 2026 annual accounts. The audit watchdog Apas is now examining whether PwC's clean sign-off was justified. BayWa itself is reviewing potential damages claims against its former auditor. Crucially, until a revamped restructuring plan is finalised, PwC is refusing to certify the 2025 accounts. The group expects to publish the consolidated 2025 financial statements no earlier than 30 October 2026.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying BayWa?
On the operational front, BayWa r.e. tried to show it was still active at this week's Intersolar Europe exhibition in Munich. The division sold two solar projects totalling 73 megawatts and a US wind project of roughly 506 megawatts during the first quarter of 2026. Yet segment revenue slumped 23.1% to €624.8m from €812.1m a year earlier, underlining the market headwinds that scuppered the planned disposal. The parent's underlying business is also in retreat: the Hersbruck office will close on 30 September, while the Regen building-materials site has already shut its doors as of 30 June.
The standstill agreement with lending banks — including DZ Bank and UniCredit — buys time until autumn 2026 to hammer out a credible new plan. But the battle lines are drawn. The creditor banks are demanding a substantial capital injection from BayWa's anchor shareholders, the Bavarian Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken. The cooperative lenders have so far refused, having already written off 60% of their promissory note exposure — a hit of €132m. The Genossenschaftsverband Bayern is recommending further impairments, and in a worst case, a full write-off.
At €11.05, BayWa's stock is trading 46% lower than a year ago and 34% below its end-2025 level. The 200-day moving average of €15.35 is a distant memory, as is the 52-week high of €23.90 reached in December last year. With no audited financial statements expected until late 2026 and the revised restructuring plan still under construction, fundamental valuation remains all but impossible. Investors will have to wait until autumn to see whether the company can persuade its financiers, shareholders and workforce to shoulder the sacrifices required to keep the conglomerate afloat.
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BayWa Stock: New Analysis - 23 June
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