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Corporate Finance

Our capital structure is driven by our target to optimise the cost of capital. Equity capital is by far the most expensive, therefore we make optimal use of equity substitutes. Besides the issue of subordinated debt instruments, in 1994 we pioneered the first securitisation. Our efficient capital management brings the weighted average cost of capital down to one of the lowest in the industry, whereas the return on equity ranks among the top.

Our capital management focuses on:

  • Issue of subordinated debt instruments (hybrid capital) to the maximum tolerance level of the rating agencies
  • Opportunistic use of retrocessions
  • Securitisations (transfer of reinsurance risks into capital markets)

Current debt issues:

[ 2007-02-26 ]

Merlin I B.V.: EUR 95 m. Credit-Linked Floating-Rate Notes

[ 2005-06-01 ]

5.00 per cent Hannover Finance (Luxembourg) S.A., undated guaranteed subordinated fixed to floating rate callable bonds of 2005, principal amount EUR 500,000,000, ISIN: XS0221011454
Prospectus (PDF: 570 KB)

[ 2004-02-26 ]

5.75 per cent Hannover Finance (Luxembourg) S.A., guaranteed subordinated fixed to floating rate bonds of 2004/2024, principal amount EUR 750,000,000, ISIN: XS0187043079
Prospectus (PDF: 612 KB)

[ 2001-03-09 ]

 6.25 per cent Hannover Finance (Luxembourg) S.A., guaranteed subordinated fixed to floating rate bonds of 2001/2031, principal amount  EUR 350,000,000 (EUR 211,850,000 exchanged in May 2005), ISIN: XS0126063386
Prospectus (PDF: 409 KB).


Current securitisations:

Kepler(Q1/2007): USD 200 m. Senior Secured Credit Facility
L6 (Q1/2006): EUR 100 m. securitisation of life embedded value
K5 (Q1/2006): USD 414 m. portfolio-linked securitisation
L5 (Q4/2002): EUR 300 m. securitisation of acquisition costs in life reassurance


Current catastrophe bonds:

Eurus (Q3/2006): USD 150 m. European windstorm risks


Capital measures since 1999:

[ 2003-12-31 ]

120,597,134 no-par value registered shares. Increase in common stock through a capital increase for cash against issuance of 9,716,392 new shares in conjunction with a capital increase against contribution in kind through issuance of 13,716,814 new shares to Talanx AG for shares in HDI Re (Ireland) Ltd.

[ 2002-12-31 ]

97,163,928 no-par value registered shares. Increase in common stock out of company funds as of 17.12.2002. Stock split with a ratio of 3 for 1 as of 15.07.2002

[ 2001-12-31 ]

32,387,976 no-par value registered shares. Issuance of 2,857,761 new registered shares as of 28.11.2001

[ 2000-12-31 ]

29,530,215 no-par value registered shares. Transformation into registered shares as of 16.10.2000

[ 1999-12-31 ]

29,530,215 no-par value shares, consisting of 16,730,215 bearer shares and 12,800,000 registered shares