SCOR successfully places EUR 250 million perpetual subordinated notes

Press Release                                                      
25 September 2014                                              

For more information, please contact:
Marie-Laurence Bouchon                              +33 (0) 1 58 44 75 58
Group Head of Communications

Antonio Moretti                                               +33 (0) 1 58 44 77 15
Investor Relations Director

Not for distribution in or into the U.S., Canada or Japan

SCOR successfully places EUR 250 million perpetual subordinated notes

Further to yesterday's placement of perpetual subordinated notes on the Swiss franc market in the amount of CHF 125 million, SCOR has successfully placed perpetual subordinated notes on the Euro market in the amount of EUR 250 million.

The net proceeds of the notes issue will be used for general corporate purposes. Furthermore, it is currently SCOR's intention to refinance the 6.154% undated deeply subordinated notes callable in July 2016, subject to regulatory approval.

The coupon has been set to 3.875% (until 1 October 2025), and resets every 11 years at the prevailing 11-year EUR mid-swap rate + 2.7%.

The notes' ratings are A- by Standard & Poor's and A3 by Moody's.

Settlement is expected to take place on 1 October 2014. The proceeds from the notes are expected to be eligible for inclusion in SCOR's solvency margin, in accordance with applicable rules and regulatory standards, and as equity credit in the rating agency capital models.

Denis Kessler, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of SCOR, comments: "After yesterday's placement on the Swiss Franc market, today's successful placement on the Euro market further demonstrates SCOR's strong capital market access and financial flexibility. Both placements are consistent with SCOR's "Optimal Dynamics" strategic plan to optimize our financial structure. In addition, the perpetual notes enable SCOR to benefit from exceptional market conditions in order to secure the refinancing needs expected in 2016, significantly lowering our refinancing risk in the future." 

*

*           *

General Notice
This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities and the offering of the Notes does not constitute a public offering in any jurisdiction, except in Switzerland. This announcement does neither constitute (i) an offering prospectus within the meaning of Art. 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations, (ii) nor a listing prospectus within the meaning of the SIX Swiss Exchange Listing Rules, (iii) nor a prospectus or a supplement prospectus pursuant to Directive 2003/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council dated November 4, 2003 (together with any relevant implementing measure in each state party to the agreement on the European Economic Area (the "Prospectus Directive"), as amended. Any decision to invest in the notes must be based exclusively on the prospectus published by SCOR for such purpose.

Release, publication or distribution of this press release is forbidden in any country where it would violate applicable laws or regulations.

United States of America
This press release is not an offer of the notes for sale in the United States. The notes may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration under the US Securities Act of 1933. Any public offering in the United States may only be made by means of a prospectus that may be obtained from the issuer containing detailed information about the issuer and its management, as well as its financial statements.

*
*    *

Forward-looking statements
SCOR does not communicate "profit forecasts" in the sense of Article 2 of (EC) Regulation n°809/2004 of the European Commission. Thus, any forward-.looking statements contained in this communication should not be held as corresponding to such profit forecasts. Information in this communication may include "forward-looking statements", including but not limited to statements that are predictions of or indicate future events, trends, plans or objectives, based on certain assumptions and include any statement which does not directly relate to a historical fact or current fact. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words or phrases such as, without limitation, "anticipate", "assume", "believe", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "foresee", "intend", "may increase" and "may fluctuate" and similar expressions or by future or conditional verbs such as, without limitations, "will", "should", "would" and "could." Undue reliance should not be placed on such statements, because, by their nature, they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, on the one hand, to differ from any results expressed or implied by the present communication, on the other hand.
Please refer to SCOR's Document de référence filed with the AMF on 05 March 2014 under number D. 14-0117 (the "Document de référence"), for a description of certain important factors, risks and uncertainties that may affect the business of the SCOR Group. As a result of the extreme and unprecedented volatility and disruption of the current global financial crisis, SCOR is exposed to significant financial, capital market and other risks, including movements in interest rates, credit spreads, equity prices, and currency movements, changes in rating agency policies or practices, and the lowering or loss of financial strength or other ratings.
The Group's financial information is prepared on the basis of IFRS and interpretations issued and approved by the European Union. This financial information does not constitute a set of financial statements for an interim period as defined by IAS 34 "Interim Financial Reporting".