New Delhi: Schaeffler AG successfully placed on Monday corporate bonds with a total volume of EUR 1.1 billion with international investors. The bond placement was carried out under the current debt issuance program of Schaeffler AG and comprises two tranches: EUR 500 million 4.500 % bond, maturing on August 14, 2026; and EUR 600 million 4.750 % bond, maturing on August 14, 2029, the company said.
As a result of the strong investor demand, the bond issuance was oversubscribed several times. The proceeds of the issuance will mainly be used for the refinancing of the previous bridge financing of the tender offer for all outstanding shares of Vitesco Technologies Group AG (“Vitesco”) which was completed on January 5, 2024.
The new bond issuance is scheduled to be settled on January 15, 2024. The bonds will be listed on the regulated market of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. BNP Paribas, BofA Securities, Citigroup, and Deutsche Bank, which have already advised the syndication process for the bridge financing, acted as Joint Active Bookrunners for the bond placement.
Claus Bauer, Chief Financial Officer of Schaeffler AG responsible for Finance and IT, said, “By issuing these bonds, we are securing the financing for the acquisition of the Vitesco shares for the long term at an early stage. The above-average demand and great trust of investors in Schaeffler impressively demonstrate that they value Schaeffler’s financial stability and support the corporate merger with Vitesco.”
Public tender offer for Vitesco shares completed: On January 5, 2024, the public tender offer for all outstanding shares of Vitesco was closed and the payment of the consideration of EUR 94 per share having been offered to Schaeffler within the acceptance period was executed. As a result, Schaeffler secured 29.88% of the Vitesco shares. The total offer consideration amounted to about EUR 1.1 billion.
Following the completion of the tender offer and in combination with the 49.94% stake held by IHO Holding, the strategic management holding company of the Schaeffler family (attributed to Schaeffler due to an acting in concert agreement), Schaeffler holds 79.82% of Vitesco’s share capital and voting rights.
Klaus Rosenfeld, Chief Executive Officer of Schaeffler AG, said, “With the completion of the tender offer and the very successful bond issuance, we have successfully implemented the first important step in the combination of Schaeffler and Vitesco. We are pleased by the positive response from the capital markets, which impressively confirms that our plan to create a leading motion technology company is being embraced and supported.”
