Hunting line: Scout24 goes hunting with Noerr

Noerr has advised Scout24 AG on a new EUR 1 billion syndicated loan. The law firm’s team was led by its Frankfurt partners Andreas Naujoks and Torsten Wehrhahn.

The new loan enables Scout24 AG, an MDAX-listed leading operator of digital marketplaces headquartered in Munich , to completely repay its syndicated loan from December 2016 and, as part of the refinancing, secure a firm commitment for a new EUR 500 million line of credit for acquisitions (“hunting line”). Scout24 AG intends to use the new syndicated loan and the growth this will facilitate to build on its leading position among real estate and automobile classified advertising internet platforms and expand the services it offers in its network.

The new syndicated loan agreement was once again heavily oversubscribed. In March 2018, Scout24 used its positive fiscal 2017 result for a EUR 215 million debut promissory note loan for which investor demand was so strong that it was possible to place each tranche at the lowest end of its price range. In diversifying its financing mix, Scout24 joined a trend and took a large step towards the debt market.

Scout24 entrusted its new financing to UniCredit Bank AG and ABN AMRO BANK N.V. as mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners. For the debut promissory note loan, Scout24 had commissioned ING Bank and Landesbank Baden-Württemberg as mandated lead arrangers.

When it comes to financing, Scout24 regularly relies on Noerr and teams led by Andreas Naujoks and Torsten Wehrhahn. They advised Scout24 on the EUR 800 million syndicated financing that has now been repaid. Naujoks and Wehrhahn also supported Scout24 in the debut promissory note loan in March 2018, with which Scout24 attracted a great deal of attention in the equity market.

Advisors to Scout24 AG:

In-house (Berlin): Peter Busse (lead, head of Capital Markets), Johannes Schneider

Noerr (Frankfurt): Andreas Naujoks und Dr Torsten Wehrhahn (joint lead), Dr Alexander Schilling