Development into an international construction services provider

When the construction boom – triggered off by reunification – had slackened in the mid-1990s, the innate problems in the German construction industry came clearly to light. The HOCHTIEF CEO at the time, Dr. Hans-Peter Keitel (1947*), responded to these problems by systematically restructuring the company. Keitel had joined the HOCHTIEF Executive Board in 1990 and became Chairman in 1992. The company developed into an international provider of construction and construction-related services. The new product and service offer comprises development, construction, services plus concessions and operation. In a fresh move, HOCHTIEF opened up new business fields such as project development, airport management and facility management. The realignment of the Group also brought about changes in the personnel structure: In addition to people from the traditional field of construction, HOCHTIEF's workforce today comprises financing experts, airport managers, sound technicians and school janitors, to mention but a few. After 15 years at the top of the company, Keitel left the HOCHTIEF Executive Board in 2007 and became a member of the Supervisory Board.

In his post as CEO, Keitel was succeeded by Dr. Herbert Lütkestratkötter (*1950). Mechanical engineer Lütkestratkötter joined HOCHTIEF in 2003. As CEO, he continued the strategy and systematically extended HOCHTIEF's life cycle management approach: Today, the company's strategy is based on the networked cooperation of all corporate divisions. HOCHTIEF covers all phases of the infrastructure project, real estate and facility life-cycle.

HOCHTIEF is continuously expanding its local presence in the world's most important construction markets. In 2007, it acquired civil engineering company Flatiron, one of the Top 10 vendors of infrastructure projects in the USA. In 2009 in Qatar, HOCHTIEF Construction won the contract to build the 8-kilometer-long Barwa Commercial Avenue shopping mall in Doha. For some years now, HOCHTIEF has also been represented in the Gulf states via the Habtoor Leighton Group, a company of the Leighton Group.

The corporate structure that was streamlined as of January 1, 2011, reflects the operational alignment of our company and also mirrors the Group's presence in all important regions internationally.

On December 1, 2010, HOCHTIEF's largest shareholder, ACS Actividades de Construcción y Servicios, S.A., published a takeover offer in the form of an exchange offer for all HOCHTIEF shares not held by ACS. On December 15, 2010, ACS tabled an increased offer. After expiration of all relevant periods, ACS announced on February 3, 2011 that it then held 33.49 percent of shares in HOCHTIEF.

Upon termination of the General Shareholders' Meeting of HOCHTIEF Aktiengesellschaft on May 12, 2011, Dr. Herbert Lütkestratkötter retired from the company's Executive Board. His successor as CEO is Dr. Frank Stieler. The lawyer has been an Executive Board member since 2009 and was responsible for the Europe business of HOCHTIEF before.

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