White & Case oversees Schuldschein issuance for German optics and audiology company

Published at 30 May 2025

The transaction’s order book was several times oversubscribed within a week of launch.

Global law firm White & Case has advised eyewear and hearing aid company Fielmann Group on its inaugural Schuldschein issuance of EUR 275 million.

The Frankfurt-based White & Case advisory team was headed by partners Vanessa Schürmann, Karsten Wöckener and Peter Becker, in addition to partners Rebecca Emory and Sebastian Schrag, counsel David Santoro, and associates Darleen Stöckl and Marie-Christin Frowerk.

Headquartered in Hamburg, Fielmann is a family business that provides its 29 million customers with hearing systems such as hearing aids, and optics products including glasses, contact lenses and eye care services. It employs over 24,000 employees and has 1,200 branches located across the US and Europe.

The company issued a promissory note loan on the Schuldschein market totalling EUR 275 million. The Schuldschein offers three, five, and seven-year maturities on loans, consisting of tranches with fixed and variable interest rates.

Within a single week of launch, the order book for the transaction was oversubscribed several times over thanks to significant institutional investor interest.

The long-term financing will allow for greater financial flexibility for Fielmann and reduce its overall capital costs. It will also refinance the bridge facility costs linked with the company’s acquisition of US business Shopko Optical, on which White & Case also advised. 

Fielmann CFO Steffen Bätjer said of the transaction: “With this promissory note transaction, we are securing long-term financing at attractive conditions, optimizing our capital structure, reducing our cost of capital and creating financial flexibility for the continuation of our growth strategy.”

The issuance was arranged by BNP Paribas, DZ BANK, and Morgan Stanley.