Abelló Linde Centenary Book

THE RETURN OF LINDE
he shareholders’ meeting held on March 5 th 1956 agreed to carry out a
Tcapital increase of 4,750,000 pesetas, so that the company’s final capital
would be 7 million. The capital had not been modified since the company
was founded. 4,750 shares were issued at 1,000 pesetas each, which were
subscribed for with a premium in proportion to the reserves accumulated. The
minutes of the Board of Directors stated that the shareholders “renouncing all preemptive
rights to the subscription of the said shares, give the company complete
freedom of action to offer them to whomsoever they feel suitable, even nonshareholding
third parties”. The law of public companies gave shareholders a preemptive
right of subscription, so this renunciation was essential for allowing those
who were not to enter the capital.
The increase was intended to bring Linde back into the shareholders’ fold,
once the post-war period and the political suspicions with regard to German
companies had been overcome. The agreement with Linde envisaged them
entering with 25% of the capital and they did so with a non-financial investment
of machinery. These two facts – the authorization of a foreign partner and the
importation licenses of equipment – caused a considerable delay in the increase,
because although we are in years of change and liberalization there was still a
huge administrative bureaucracy. As for foreign investment, remember that 25%
of the capital was still the maximum percentage allowed without prior
authorization, but this did not preclude giving explanations for the operation to the
Ministry of Industry. It had to confirm that all the legal requisites were complied
with. As for the machinery, the import license was linked to the authorization of
the capital increase and to an assessment of the assets imported. There were
several ministries involved and this was a guarantee of paperwork and long
periods of waiting.
Isidro Abelló Carreras with Dr. Friedrich Linde and Rudolf
Wucherer in Berchstesgaden, 1954
Before the return of Linde, the company’s capital was distributed in the
following way:
In %
In shares
Federico Abelló Bruguera* 22.22 500
Concepción Abelló Bruguera* 14.80 333
Isidro Abelló Carreras 32.62 734
Juan Rovira 27.06 682
Total shares 2,250
* Brother and sister held an undivided shareholding between them.
Source: Extraordinary General Meeting, October 10th 1958.
At the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders on October 10 th 1958
it was stated that authorization had been obtained ”so that 25% of the capital
increase may be subscribed for by the German company Gesellschaft für Linde’s
Eismachinen, as it had once been a shareholder in our company”. “The
Government of the Nation, through the Resolution of the Ministry of Industry of
The return of Linde and a strong industrial boost (1956-1975) 115