SCOR successfully reopens its existing Swiss franc market perpetual subordinated notes placement by issuing an additional amount of CHF 225,000,000. The notes will be fungible with the outstanding Swiss franc perpetual note placement announced on 20 January 2011 and the conditions are similar to this placement:

 

The hybrid capital is expected to be treated as capital from a regulatory and rating agency perspective to the extent permissible.

 

As announced on 26 April 2011, SCOR will finance the acquisition of Transamerica Re’s mortality business through existing resources and a limited debt issuance, without the issuance of any new shares. Today’s placement is in line with this recently announced upcoming acquisition, as well as the Group's capital management strategy. It also forms part of SCOR’s strategic plan “Strong Momentum”, which is based on four key principles consistently applied over time: high diversification, robust capital shield, strong franchise and controlled risk appetite. This plan aims notably to offer an “AA” level of security to clients by, amongst other things, actively pursuing ways in which to optimize diversification within a consistent set of principles and by seeking an optimal capital structure in terms of amount, quality and fungibility.

 

 

Denis Kessler, Chairman and CEO of SCOR, comments: “With this placement we have successfully secured the financing element of the strategic acquisition of Transamerica Re’s mortality book, whilst maintaining an unchanged post-acquisition capital strength target as announced in our strategic plan “Strong Momentum”. Once again, the placement demonstrates SCOR’s strong access to the capital markets and investors’ confidence in the Group’s strategy.”