The accord splits Schaeffler’s credit lines into two portions of 4 1/2-year and six-year maturities and will be implemented “in several stages,” Schaeffler said today in an e-mailed statement. Continental surged the most in a month in Frankfurt trading.
“We have reached a central milestone to further develop Schaeffler Group successfully in coming years,” Chief Financial Officer Klaus Rosenfeld said in the statement. “We are also completing another important precondition for a possible merger of Schaeffler Group with Continental.”
Herzogenaurach, Germany-based Schaeffler made a hostile bid for Continental a year ago in an effort to challenge Robert Bosch GmbH as the world’s No. 1 producer of car parts, sparking a leadership dispute between the two companies. Schaeffler now controls more than 90% of Continental’s stock. Continental said on Aug. 12 that its chief executive officer and chairman will leave their posts in a bid to resolve the dispute.
Continental gained as much as 2.67 euros, or 12%, to 24.92 euros in the biggest intraday jump since July 20 and was at that price at 12:11 p.m.
Schaeffler said it struck refinancing deals with UBS, Royal Bank of Scotland, Unicredit SpA’s HVB Group unit, and Commerzbank AG, which now includes original lender Dresdner Bank. (Tire Review/Akron)
