Ad-hoc | 4 November 2003 08:07

Südzucker AG english

Südzucker AG offers Euro 250 million 5 year convertible. Ad-hoc-announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– Urgent Announcement for the Business Press, Mannheim, 4.11.2003: Südzucker AG offers Euro 250 million 5 year convertible. Increase of stakes in Raffinerie Tirlemontoise and Saint-Louis Sucre to 100 % After the approval by the Supervisory Board, the Executive Board of Südzucker AG Mannheim/Ochsenfurt, Mannheim, Europes largest sugar producer, today decided to launch an approx. Euro 250 million convertible bond offering. The converti-ble bond is offered with a coupon of 2.75 % to 3.25 % and a conversion premium of 35 % to 40 %. The coupon and conversion premium will be set at final pricing. The convertible bond has a maturity of 5 years and will be issued through Süd- zucker International Finance B.V., a Dutch subsidiary of Südzucker AG. The con- vertible will be guaranteed by Südzucker AG. It is expected that the conver- tible will be rated “A 2” by Moodys and “A -” by Standard and Poors. Südzucker intends to list the convertible bond on the Frankfurt stock exchange in December 2003. The convertible bond will be placed solely with institutional investors outside the US, Canada and Japan in reliance on Regulation S. Deutsche Bank is the Bookrunner on the convertible bond offering. The offering allows Südzucker AG to secure attractive long-term financing and to benefit from the particularly attractive market conditions due to the combination of low interest rates and strong demand from convertible investors. The proceeds will be used to buy the remaining approx. 15 % of Südzuckers Belgian subsidiary Raffinerie Tirlemontoise S.A. (RT). Südzucker will thereby increase its stake in RT and indirectly also in its subsidiary Saint-Louis Sucre S.A. to 100 %. This will lead to a sustainable increase in the groups net income and improve the cash flow by approx. Euro 19 million p.a. For the earnings per share this will mean a positive effect of approx. 10 cent. Board of management ***** This notice is not an offer for sale or a solicitation of an offer to purchase the above-mentioned convertible bond or any other security of Südzucker AG and Südzucker International Finance B.V. end of ad-hoc-announcement (c)DGAP 04.11.2003 ——————————————————————————– WKN: 729700; ISIN: DE0007297004; Index: MDAX Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Berlin-Bremen, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt (Prime Standard), Hamburg, München und Stuttgart; Freiverkehr in Hannover 040807 Nov 03