SV Werder Bremen issues a new bond
SV Werder Bremen had been hoping for a surprise win in the DFB Women's Cup final in Cologne on 1 May. But regardless of losing that game to FC Bayern, Germany's thirteenth-largest sports club wants to invest more money in the growth area of women's football. This is one of the reasons why SV Werder Bremen GmbH & Co KG aA is now raising fresh debt capital.
The new bond is aimed at retail and institutional investors and has a target volume of 20 million euros with a term until 2030. The lion's share of up to 18 million euros of the proceeds will be used to refinance the first Werder bond, which expires in 2026. Holders of the existing bond, which was issued in 2021, can register holdings for exchange into the new bonds as part of an exchange offer until 19 May.
High uptake expected
„We assume that we will have a high exchange rate,“ Klaus Filbry, Chairman of the Management Board of Werder Bremen, told Börsen-Zeitung. The extra money will be used to secure important infrastructure projects in the Pauliner Marsch. In addition to a football campus and several pitches, this also includes the Platz 11 sports facility, which is used by the Werder women, as our training centre, and for amateur sports.
Interest rate at 6 per cent
An interest rate (coupon) of between 5.75% and 6.25% is planned for minimum denominations of 1,000 euros. The final interest rate and the total nominal amount of the bond are to be determined and published after the end of the offer period on 22 May at the latest. The bond is also intended to enable investments in growth areas such as women's football, digitalisation and artificial intelligence. The issue will be made via an offering in Luxembourg and Germany, and will be led by Bankhaus Metzler as Sole Global Coordinator.
Sometimes losses for the fans
Over the past twenty years, the capital market has proven to be a means of financing for football clubs. This has not always worked out well for the fans: for example, the creditors of Arminia Bielefeld had to partially waive repayment and interest payments on the bond issued in 2011, in order to save the club from bankruptcy. Alemannia Aachen even suffered a total loss due to relegation to the third division.
In the case of the first Werder bond, relegation from the Bundesliga did not affect demand for the issue carried out shortly afterwards in 2021. The current offer is aimed at holders of these bonds and new investors. From 2 to 22 May – subject to an early closing of the offer period – bonds can be subscribed for as part of the public offer. This is possible until 20 May via the Werder Bremen website or with the help of the subscription functionality „DirectPlace“ of Deutsche Börse AG via the custodian banks until 22 May. „
The first Werder bond was a success story. It is the most successful of any sports club in Germany,“ says Filbry. „We are particularly proud of it because we issued it in 2021 under difficult conditions.“ Since then, the club has „developed positively in every respect“. Holders of the existing bond are to receive a new bond with the same nominal value of 1,000 euros for each bond exchanged, plus a cash settlement of 10 euros and pro rata accrued interest.
