K+S Group, Kassel, has reduced its financial liabilities by €560 million (approximately $665 million at current exchange rates) following the successful completion of a buy-back of bonds, the company said in a June 29 statement.
In total, K+S bonds with a par value of €560 million were tendered for buy-back, with the offer period expiring on June 28. Settlement was on June 30, as planned. The company originally had planned to repurchase €450 million-worth of bonds, and it used some of the proceeds generated by the sale of its Americas operating unit for the buy-back, according to the Bloomberg report.
K+S on April 30 completed the sale of its Americas salt business consolidated in the Operating Unit Americas to the U.S’.-based Stone Canyon Industries Holdings LLC (SCIH), Mark Demetree and partners, securing net proceeds equivalent to around €2.6 billion (GM May 7, p. 44 ). K+S said the sale proceeds would be used to reduce company debt.
“With the successful buy-back of the bonds, we are reducing our debt while further optimizing our balance sheet structure,” said K+S CFO Thorsten Boeckers. “Furthermore, this will reduce our interest costs for the next few years and minimize negative interest on the proceeds generated by the sale of the Americas [unit].”