Fresenius plans share split and legal status change

Fresenius AG, owner of the world's largest provider of dialysis, plans to split shares and change the company's legal status to boost trading volume and reflect its international expansion.

Fresenius will ask shareholders to approve the plan at a Dec. 4 extraordinary general meeting, the Bad Homburg, Germany-based company said Wednesday.

Several companies are adopting the new legal structure, also known as Societas Europaea, created by the European Commission to make cross-border mergers and acquisitions easier. German companies are allowed to choose between the two-tier system of a supervisory board representing shareholders and employees, and an executive board. The European company system may give workers less say in management decisions.

Fresenius has dialysis filter manufacturing operations in Ogden.