Symrise AG has secured the financing for acquiring the Diana Group by successfully issuing a bond. The €500 million bond was oversubscribed several times. Part of a comprehensive financing concept totaling €1.3 billion, it boasts highly attractive conditions and will be used by Symrise to finance the largest acquisition in the company’s history over the long term.
Due to a capital increase based on authorized capital, which was equally well received by the market, Symrise achieved proceeds from the issue of around €400 million in May 2014. In June 2014, the company secured short and medium-term borrowings from its primary banks amounting to €400 million.
The bond financing has a term of 5 years and a coupon of 1.75 %. The issuance was supported by Mitsubishi UFJ Securities International plc and UniCredit Bank AG as active bookrunners together with Banco Santander S.A., BNP Paribas, Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen and J.P. Morgan Securities plc. The bond shall be listed and admitted for trading on the official list of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (ISIN DE000SYM7704). As part of its refinancing activities, Symrise successfully issued its first corporate bond in October 2010 with a maturity of seven years.
Bernd Hirsch, CFO at Symrise AG, said: “With the bond successfully issued, our long-term financing concept for the Diana acquisition is complete. The fact that this was achieved within a very short period of time between the purchase offer and completion is a great accomplishment of all those involved. The trust of the investors underlines the convincing logic of the transaction and a confirmation of our strategy and our financial power. Symrise will accelerate its profitable growth even more with the successful integration of Diana.”
Diana is one of the leading suppliers of sensory solutions based on natural ingredients and has become a preferred partner to manufacturers of foods, pet food, aquacultures and cosmetics. With the planned acquisition, Symrise will substantially expand its market position particularly in natural flavors, intensify backward integration for raw materials and gain a greater foothold in the highly attractive market segment for pet food.
