ALSO Holding AG completes successful placement of a promissory note (Schuldscheindarlehen)

ALSO Holding AG (SIX: ALSN) has successfully completed its placement of a promissory note (Schuldscheindarlehen). Issuance volume of EUR 154 million is divided into three tranches with maturities of five, seven, and ten years carrying either fixed or variable interest. ALSO was able to take advantage of the current low interest rate environment, which combined with strong investor demand made it possible to raise funding on attractive terms which were at the lower end of the offer price range.

"The completion of this private placement of a promissory note has enabled us to capitalize on the favourable market environment we currently see. The expansion of our financing repertoire is another step in the evolution and optimization of our financial structure. The proceeds will be used to ensure mid-term liquidity access and to provide increased financial flexibility for our MORE program. It will also provide financial headroom when it comes to the strategic development of the Group," said Gustavo Möller-Hergt, CEO of ALSO Holding AG.

Strong demand from investors led to significant oversubscription for the note, which resulted in a significant increase in issuance from the originally planned EUR 100 million to EUR 154 million. The promissory note was placed in Europe. The placement was managed by Bayerische Landesbank and Deutsche Bank.

“The positive response from investors is a vote of confidence in ALSO’s business model. Our customers support our move to become a ‘solutions aggregator’. This taps the explosive growth potential of cloud computing and the digitalization of entire industries and helps our resellers pioneer a more services-led, recurring revenue approach to sales. Our newly created Consumptional Business unit, which encompasses ALSO’s ‘IT as a Service’ offering, is an essential part of reaching the emerging generation of customers that prefer to use rather than buy software and hardware,” Möller-Hergt continued.

Between 2011 and 2016, ALSO has consistently increased its size and profitability, with net sales up from EUR 6.2 billion to EUR 8 billion and net income up from EUR 26.7 million to EUR 83.2 million. During the same time, the share price tripled. “ALSO aims to continue growing organically and through targeted acquisitions,” said Möller-Hergt.

Direct link to the press release: https://also.com/goto/20170831en