Stockmann to issue a EUR 85 million hybrid bond Helsinki,

Helsinki, Finland, 2015-12-10 15:45 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- STOCKMANN plc, Company Announcement 10.12.2015 at 16:45 EET INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS RELEASE MAY NOT BE RELEASED, PUBLISHED OR DISTRIBUTED, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, HONG KONG, JAPAN OR SINGAPORE. Stockmann plc will issue a EUR 85 million hybrid bond. The coupon rate of the bond is 7.75% per annum. The bond has no maturity but the company may exercise an early redemption option earliest on 31 January 2020. The settlement date of the bond is 17 December 2015. The hybrid bond will strengthen Stockmann’s capital structure and it will also be used to pay down debt maturing in 2016. “Demand for the hybrid bond, which was oversubscribed almost three times by Finnish and international investors, exceeded our expectations and we are very satisfied with the outcome. This is a clear signal from the market that Stockmann’s chosen strategic direction is the correct one. The hybrid bond also strengthens our financial flexibility in the current challenging market situation,” says Lauri Veijalainen, Stockmann’s CFO. A hybrid bond is an instrument which is subordinated to the company’s other debt obligations and which is treated as equity in the company´s consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with the IFRS. The hybrid bond does not confer to its holders the rights of a shareholder and does not dilute the holdings of the current shareholders. Danske Bank A/S is acting as coordinator and Danske Bank A/S and Pohjola Bank plc as lead managers in the transaction. Roschier Attorneys Ltd acts as legal advisor to Stockmann. Further information: Lauri Veijalainen, CFO, tel. +358 9 121 5062 Nora Malin, Director, Corporate Communications, tel. +358 9 121 3558 www.stockmanngroup.com STOCKMANN plc Per Thelin CEO Distribution: Nasdaq Helsinki Principal media DISCLAIMER Information contained in this release may not be released, published or distributed, directly or indirectly, in the United States, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan or Singapore or such other countries or otherwise in such circumstances in which the offering of the capital securities would be unlawful or require measures other than those required under the laws of Finland. This release does not constitute an offer of, or an invitation to purchase, the capital securities in any jurisdiction. No offer will be made to persons whose participation in the offering requires any additional information memorandum or registration. The capital securities have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons. Terms used in the preceding sentence have the meanings given to them by Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933. Any subscription or purchase of the capital securities may only be made on the basis of the information contained in the applicable information memorandum published and distributed by Stockmann. Stockmann has not authorized the offering of the capital securities to the public in any member state of the European Economic Area (the “EEA”). All offers of the capital securities in the EEA will be made pursuant to an exemption under the Directive 2003/71/EC (as amended by Directive 2010/73/EU, the “Prospectus Directive”), as implemented in the member states of the EEA, from the requirement to produce a prospectus under the Prospectus Directive for offers of securities. The offer is only addressed to and directed at persons in member states of the EEA who are “qualified investors” within the meaning of Article 2(1)(e) of Prospectus Directive and the minimum size of the investment as well as the unit size is EUR 100,000. The expression an “offer to the public” in relation to any capital securities in any member state of the EEA means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any capital securities to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase any capital securities, as the same may be varied in that member state by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that member state. The financial institutions defined herein are acting exclusively for Stockmann as lead managers of the offering and will not be responsible to anyone other than Stockmann for providing the protections afforded to its clients nor giving investment or other advice in relation to the capital securities or any other transaction or any other matter mentioned herein. The information provided herein may only be communicated to persons in the United Kingdom in circumstances where section 21(1) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 as amended, does not apply and is solely directed at persons in the United Kingdom who (a) have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the “Order”) or (b) persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order, or other persons to whom it may be lawfully communicated (all such persons together being referred to as “relevant persons”). This release is directed only at relevant persons and any person who is not a relevant person must not act or rely on this document or any of its contents. The capital securities may not be publicly offered, sold or advertised, directly or indirectly, in, into or from Switzerland and will not be listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange Ltd. (“SIX Swiss Exchange”) or on any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. Neither the applicable information memorandum nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the capital securities constitutes a prospectus as such term is understood pursuant to article 652a or article 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or a listing prospectus within the meaning of the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange or any other regulated trading facility in Switzerland, and neither the applicable information memorandum nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the capital securities may be publicly distributed or otherwise made publicly available in Switzerland.