In the rescue plan for battery manufacturer Varta, which was recently finalised, the funds holding debt issued via the syndicated loan negotiated quite well. In the future, these creditors will have a virtual participation of 36% in dividends, or a company sale, for example, if they participate in the provision of a new senior secured loan. This is a respectable result.

It was always to be feared that the free-float shareholders would be wiped out. They have no say in the financial restructuring. The fact that their capital investment is gone is ultimately okay – the economic risk of a shareholder includes total loss. What is not okay however is that they –unlike the principal owner, Michael Tojner – are excluded from any future value recovery, and are being forced out of the company.

This injustice, which is causing serious damage to the German share markets, has already caused a stir in the restructuring of the car supplier Leoni. It is a design flaw in the restructuring law StaRUG that must be eliminated. Shareholders must be treated equally, even in crises.

Tojner's loss of power is remarkable. He actually wanted to secure further control, by contributing real estate and a modest amount of cash. But creditors prevented this. Tojner remains a significant shareholder, but has had to give up control. The creditor side has apparently had enough of his dominance, and his miserable risk management at the head of the Supervisory Board.

Tojner presided over an excessive expansion of production capacity, which led to disaster. One major customer, Apple, bought far fewer mini batteries for earphones than expected.