EUR 125 million convertible bond successfully placed
Air Berlin, Germany’s second-largest airline company, placed a convertible bond amounting to EUR 125 million with institutional investors outside of the US, Canada, Australia and Japan. Part of the inflowing capital will be used to repurchase existing bonds in the amount of EUR 90 million (nominal value), the remaining EUR 70 million will be used to refinance future airplane purchases and to improve liquidity. In this manner, based on the figures reported for the 1st quarter of 2009, equity will improve from EUR 332 million to 504 million (plus EUR 172 million). Due to the increase in liquidity by EUR 171 million, net indebtedness will decrease by EUR 182 million, namely from EUR 779 million to 597 million, including the equity transactions carried out this year.
Ulf Hüttmeyer, CFO of Air Berlin PLC, commented on the successful placement of the convertible bond in Berlin, as follows: „On the occasion of the presentation of the Annual Financial Statements at the end of March 2009, we announced that Air Berlin was going to improve its balance sheet structure in a sustainable manner. We have carried out several transactions, keeping our promise. We have succeeded in improving Air Berlin PLC’s equity and liquidity, and thus improved the entire financial position of the company.“
The convertible bond guaranteed by Air Berlin PLC is issued by Air Berlin Finance B.V. and is convertible into Air Berlin PLC shares. Shareholders of Air Berlin PLC are excluded from subscription rights. The convertible bond, divided into partial bonds with a nominal value of EUR 50,000 and a 5-year maturity, has a coupon of 9 percent. Air Berlin PLC and the institutional investors agreed to a conversion price of EUR 4.01 per share.
Air Berlin PLC intends to include the convertible bond for trading in the open market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange by the end of September 2009, at the latest. In the con- text of the issuance of the convertible bond, Morgan Stanley Bank AG and quirin bank AG acted as joint bookrunners and lead managers.
