OREANDA-NEWS. The Rhön-Klinikum AG share repurchase programme with a volume of around €1.7 billion is Germany's first of its kind, in which tender rights could be traded via the stock exchange. The company selected a programme type that had not yet been offered in Germany as a means of returning surplus capital to shareholders.

Baader Bank, commissioned with the transaction, jointly developed a new process together with the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, by which the buyback was organised using tradable tender rights. This enabled RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG shareholders to trade both tender rights as well as already tendered shares on a regulated market with monitored pricing. Tender rights totalling €29.9 million were traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

“We are pleased that we could successfully launch this innovative service together with Rhön-Klinikum and Baader Bank. With trading in tender rights, we now offer companies an interesting option for share buyback measures,” said Dr Cord Gebhardt, Head of Primary Markets at Deutsche Börse.

“The first share buyback using tradable tender rights in Germany enabled shareholders, as planned, to use the high liquidity in tender rights and shares to pursue their individual strategy and 'align' their shareholdings with the 'new Rhön',” commented Christian Bacherl, Co-Head Corporates & Markets at Baader Bank AG.

“From our company's point of view, the share repurchase programme we offered together with our partners was a total success and strong proof of the market’s confidence in our plan to distribute a large portion of the sales proceeds to our shareholders via a very flexible instrument,” noted RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG CFO Jens-Peter Neumann. The adjustment of share capital relating to the share repurchase also reflects the leaner corporate structure and serves as a stable balance sheet basis for Rhön's future growth strategy.