RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG, UKGM, Federal State of Hesse and Universities of Giessen and Marburg Sign Agreement in Separate Accounting

Bad Neustadt / Saale, December 27, 2017. RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG, the university hospitals in Giessen and Marburg (Universitätsklinikum Gießen and Marburg GmbH (UKGM)), the Federal State of Hesse and both universities in Giessen and Marburg signed an agreement on December 22, 2017 to put the position paper for the further development of university medical care in Giessen and Marburg in central Hesse (separate accounting) into practice. In May of this year the parties concerned already agreed on the basic points in the position paper. The final contractual closing has now taken place. The agreement must still be validated by an auditor and approved in the federal state budget for 2018/2019 before it takes effect. It will initially run until the end of 2021 but the Company believes it can be the basis for a more permanent regulation beyond the agreed term based on its content and proposed measures.

"The healthcare base in Giessen and Marburg in central Hesse will greatly benefit from this agreement as well as our many thousands of employees and patients at UKGM, of course, too," Stephan Holzinger, CEO of RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG, stated. "This agreement paves the way for all sides to reconsider the situation and to act constructively to achieve the best possible solution in everyone's interest. Such is our obligation. I wish to thank the federal state government of Hesse and both universities for their constructive and sensible approach to the negotiations in this complicated subject."

Agreement Strengthens Healthcare Base in Central Hesse

The agreement foresees that UKGM will receive an additional annual amount of approx. EUR 15 million from 2017 onwards in order to finance the services it renders in the area of research and teaching. The basic amount which the federal state pays to both universities will therefore be raised accordingly and increased annually to compensate for higher costs. Furthermore UKGM will receive a single payment of EUR 13.0 million for investments and provisions which will not burden its depreciation.

An extensive investment package has additionally been agreed for both university hospitals. UKGM will invest approx. EUR 100 million in the next five years. In Marburg the psychiatric clinic will be modernised, the central operating theatre A and the intensive care units will be renovated and the paediatric and youth psychiatric clinic will be rebuilt. In Giessen the paediatric cardiological centre will be enlarged and an extension added to the hospital building.

Moreover UKGM has entered into the following obligations: there will be no terminations for operational reasons for the duration of five years and trainees with appropriate qualifications will be employed on a long-term basis.

Minister of Science Boris Rhein: "The future-oriented paper is the foundation to safeguard jobs at Marburg and Gießen on the long run. It enables massive capital expenditures and significantly strengthens the hospital infrastructure at UKGM. The federal State of Hesse always pursued the objective to ensure best patient care, job security and research and teaching on a high level. Also the massive investments in constructional works, to which RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG and the Universitätsklinikum Gießen and Marburg GmbH have committed to, imply a real boost for both locations. This is an important message for the employees of UKGM but also for patients from the middle Hesse region and beyond."

Background of the Matter

In 2006 RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG bought 95 percent of the shares in the university hospitals in Giessen and Marburg which had merged as UKGM GmbH and has since performed extensive tasks in the sovereign area of research and teaching. In return UKGM receives payments from both universities, the amount of which and whose framework conditions have now been contractually settled and signed in a new agreement.- - - - - - - - - -RHÖN‐KLINIKUM AG is one of the largest healthcare providers in Germany. The hospital group offers cutting-edge medical care with a direct link to universities and research institutes. More than 800,000 patients are treated every year at the five group hospitals located in Bad Berka, Bad Neustadt, Frankfurt (Oder), Giessen and Marburg where approx. 16,500 employees work.

With the RHÖN campus the Company is currently implementing a new and forward-looking project which raises fully comprehensive healthcare in rural areas to a new level of excellence and is geared to the growing needs of patients. www.rhoen-klinikum-ag.com

Contact:RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG

Kai Knitter | Group Division Head of Corporate Communication and Investor RelationsSchlossplatz 1, 97616 Bad Neustadt / Saale, GermanyTelephone: +49 9771 65-1328 | Mobile: +49 151 73051254 | Facsimile: +49 9771 65-1820E-Mail: kai.knitter(at)rhoen-klinikum-ag.com