This brings the total assets transferred to the Continental Pension Trust e.V., which is legally independent from Continental, to 630 million euros. "We are again acting in line with our policy of optimizing financial structures and reducing future refinancing risks," declared Continental’s CFO Alan Hippe, in Hanover.

The assets transferred may be used solely to service employee pension plan obligations. While the respective companies remain liable for servicing both current and retired employee pension entitlements, the beneficiaries now enjoy additional protection in line with international standards in the event of corporate insolvency.

Continental’s pension benefit payments in Germany amounted to 72.1 million euros in 2005. Payments for 2006 are expected to total 80.6 million euros. Continental reported pension provisions of 874.8 million euros for Germany at the end of 2005. Transferring 630 million euros to the Continental Pension Trust e.V. will significantly reduce the amount the company will be reporting in pension provisions on the 2006 balance sheet.