Linklaters advises Südzucker on the issuance of a €700 million hybrid bond
Linklaters advised Südzucker AG on the successful issuance of a €700 million hybrid bond. The subordinated bond was issued by Südzucker International Finance B.V. and is guaranteed by Südzucker AG. It has no scheduled maturity date and can be redeemed by Südzucker for the first time after 5.25 years. The nominal interest rate until reset is 5.95 percent. The issue was met with strong demand from investors. The order book was significantly oversubscribed, with a volume of around €1.6 billion at its peak. The hybrid bond is listed on the regulated market of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.
In the same context, Linklaters also advised Südzucker on a tender offer by Südzucker International Finance B.V. and the subsequent redemption of a hybrid bond issued by Südzucker in 2005. The 2005 bond had lost its equity credit status at the end of 2024 following changes to Moody's rating methodology. The 2005 bond was redeemed on 30 June 2025.
The proceeds from the new issue will be used for general corporate purposes, including the refinancing of the redemption of the hybrid bond issued in 2005.
The international Linklaters team was led by Dr Alexander Schlee (Partner, Capital Markets, Frankfurt) and Wolfgang Ettengruber (Counsel, Capital Markets, Frankfurt). Other team members were Dr Christian Schmitt (Partner, Litigation, Arbitration & Investigations, Frankfurt), Hugo van der Molen (Counsel, Capital Markets, Amsterdam), Dr Ulrich Johann (Counsel, Tax, Frankfurt), Joost Rompen (Counsel, Tax, Amsterdam), Tobias Bastian (Managing Associate, Litigation, Arbitration & Investigations, Frankfurt), Kyra van Wereld (Managing Associate, Tax, Amsterdam), Tabea Meißner (Associate, Capital Markets, Frankfurt), Tom van Steenbrugge (Associate, Capital Markets, Amsterdam), Viktoria Brehm (Associate, Litigation, Arbitration & Investigations, Frankfurt) and Marlen Klepsch (Senior Transaction Lawyer, Capital Markets, Frankfurt).
