The family company Grünenthal, whose treasury has been headed by Klaus Gerdes since the beginning of 2017, is apparently trying to improve its access to the capital market by obtaining credit ratings. Experience has shown that rated companies can tap the capital market more easily than issuers without a rating through the assessment of an independent rating agency and have to accept smaller price discounts. The disadvantage: Companies have to comply with their publication obligations on a regular basis, something that family businesses like Grünenthal in particular often shy away from.
Grünenthal had to find out for himself this year that unrated companies have a harder time placing a bond. According to the news service “Bloomberg News”, Deutsche Bank failed in February of this year to place bonds worth several hundred million euros for Grünenthal.
The reason: According to the report, the bankers did not meet with sufficient demand from potential investors in an initial exploratory round. Some fund managers are reluctant at Grünenthal due to the dangers of possible addictions and abuse of opioids, the media report said. Background: The family business produces pain relievers such as the opioid tramadol and had sales of 1.3 billion euros in 2020.
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