Many corporations are currently in urgent need of liquid funds in order to remain able to act in the Corona crisis. Adidas was hit particularly hard.
Herzogenaurach (dpa) - The sporting goods manufacturer Adidas is getting up to three billion euros of fresh money to survive the corona crisis - including 2.4 billion euros from the state development bank KfW.
The federal government announced on Tuesday that KfW would participate in a so-called syndicated loan with a loan commitment of 2.4 billion euros. There would also be commitments from a consortium of seven other banks from Germany and around the world in the amount of 600 million euros.
A company spokeswoman said that it has not yet been clarified whether the commitments will be used in full. In any case, according to current assumptions, it is assumed that the loans will be sufficient to overcome the crisis and that no further loans would have to be drawn.
Adidas had already declared two weeks ago that the corona crisis could only survive if fresh money flowed. The move now makes the company more flexible again. "The current situation poses serious challenges for even healthy companies," said CEO Kasper Rorsted. "We are doing our utmost to ensure the long-term well-being of Adidas, our 60,000 employees and our partners and are already implementing numerous measures," he emphasized. The loans drawn down should be repaid as soon as possible, including interest and fees. No taxpayer money is claimed.
The terms of the loan include that Adidas may not pay a dividend to its shareholders during the term. Adidas had previously decided to stop buying back its own shares and to forego the short-term and long-term bonuses of the Executive Board, which account for a total of 65 percent of the annual remuneration, for 2020. Other executives will also not receive a "long-term bonus component" in the current financial year. Some of the employees are sent on short-time work.
Adidas General Works Council chief Kurt Wittmann welcomed the loan commitments. "Our primary concern is to protect Adidas employees," he said. Michael Vassiliadis, chairman of the IG BCE union, emphasized that the commitment would be a big step towards securing employment. The union expressly welcomes this.
The company also said the pandemic's impact on the business cannot currently be predicted. "Therefore, Adidas can still not give an outlook that includes these effects for 2020 as a whole." The figures for the first quarter should now be published on April 27, 2020.
Adidas was hit hard by the Corona crisis. A large part of the sales shops operated by the company itself or by partners are closed. Athletes around the world, the company's most important advertising media, are not active, and there are a large number of major sporting events.
The sporting goods manufacturer had caused outrage by announcing that it would suspend rental payments for some branches due to the Corona crisis. Adidas then apologized and paid rent.
The second largest sporting goods manufacturer in the world had a record year in 2019 with a profit of almost two billion euros and actually had big plans for 2020 - also with the help of the Olympic Games and the European Football Championship. However, the Corona crisis hit the Chinese business early. China is the most important market for Adidas after the United States.
Many corporations are currently providing themselves with liquidity in order to remain liquid in the corona crisis. For example, the world's largest travel group, Tui, is to receive government aid loans of over 1.8 billion euros. Lufthansa is also negotiating state aid.
Adidas ad hoc announcement