24/01/2019
VARTA was founded by Adolf Müller in 1887, and established in 1904 as a subsidiary of Accumulatoren-Fabrik AFA. After World War I, VARTA together with AFA was acquired by German industrialist Günther Quandt and Industrialist and VARTA-CEO Dr. Carl Hermann Roderbourg. After World War II, most of the VARTA shares passed from Günther Quandt to his son, Herbert Quandt. The subsidiary in East Berlin was later occupied by the Soviet Union, and was named BAE Batterien. In 1977, VARTA AG's businesses were split up by Herbert Quandt; battery and plastics operations were retained in VARTA AG, but the pharmaceuticals and specialty chemical businesses were transferred to a new company called Altana, and the electrical business was spun off into a company called CEAG. Herbert Quandt left the company's shares to his children. In 2002, the consumer battery activities were sold to Rayovac. The automotive battery business was acquired by Johnson Controls. By 2006, VARTA AG had sold all its operating divisions, and the Quandts had sold their shares. VARTA AG then liquidated its remaining assets, contracts, liabilities and shareholdings, in particular the manufacture and sale of VARTA batteries, while continuing its company businesses. V.E. Beteiligungs GmbH and Buy-Out Beteiligungs-Invest AG of Austria acquired VARTA's Micro-Battery business.
