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[April 2005]
Issue Volume Increased for Wienerberger Bond Placement
Wienerberger AG - now the world's largest brick producer as well as being number two in roofing systems in Europe - announced on 15 April 2005 that it had successfully placed its debut bond. The issue volume was increased from the original level of 300 million to 400 million due to strong demand and triple oversubscription. The bond pays a coupon of 3.875%. The Wienerberger bond has a maturity date of 25 April 2012 and will be traded on both the Vienna and Luxembourg stock exchanges. Wienerberger and its bond are rated 'BBB(stable outlook)' by Standard & Poor's and 'Baa2 (stable outlook)' by Moody's.
"We are very pleased with the substantial interest shown by investors in our bond," commented Hans Tschuden, CFO of Wienerberger AG. "This high demand confirms that capital markets view Wienerberger as a solid investment."
Of the total issue volume, 35% was placed with Austrian and 65% with international investors - above all in Holland, Great Britain, Germany, Norway and France.
"This placement allows us to further diversify our range of debt, financing sources, address a broader base of investors and significantly increase the term structure of our liabilities," added Hans Tschuden. "We will use this capital primarily to refinance existing short-term liabilities."
ENDS