20. SENIOR NOTES
As of December 31, 2007, Senior Notes of the Fresenius Group consisted of the following:
| Notional amount | Maturity | Interest rates | Book value in million € |
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| Fresenius Finance B.V. 2003/2009 | € 100 million | April 30, 2009 | 7.50% | 100 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fresenius Finance B.V. 2006/2013 | € 500 million | Jan 31, 2013 | 5.00% | 500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fresenius Finance B.V. 2006/2016 | € 500 million | Jan 31, 2016 | 5.50% | 500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FMC Finance III S.A. 2007/2017 | US$ 500 million | July 15, 2017 | 6 7/8% | 334 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior Notes | 1,434 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Senior Notes of Fresenius Finance B.V. maturing in 2016 may be redeemed at the option of the issuer from January 31, 2011 onwards. The respective redemption prices have already been fixed at the date of issuance in the indentures.
On July 2, 2007, FMC Finance III S.A., a wholly-owned subsidiary of FMC-AG & Co. KGaA, issued US$ 500 million aggregate principal amount of 6 7/8 % senior notes due 2017 at a discount resulting in an effective interest rate of 7 1/8 %. The Senior Notes are guaranteed on a senior basis jointly and severally by FMC-AG & Co. KGaA and by its subsidiaries Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc. and Fresenius Medical Care Deutschland GmbH. Fresenius Medical Care may redeem the Senior Notes at any time at 100% of principal amount plus accrued interest and a premium calculated pursuant to the terms of the indenture. The holders have a right to request that Fresenius Medical Care repurchases the Senior Notes at 101% of principal amount plus accrued interest upon the occurrence of a change of control followed by a decline in the rating of the Senior Notes. The proceeds, net of discounts, bank fees and other offering related expenses were approximately US$ 484 million, of which US$ 150 million was used to reduce the 5-year term loan facility (Term Loan A) and US$ 150 million to reduce the 7-year term loan facility (Term Loan B) under Fresenius Medical Care’s US$ 4.6 billion Fresenius Medical Care 2006 Senior Credit Agreement. The remaining US$ 184 million was applied to the outstanding balance under its short-term accounts receivable facility. The discount is being amortized over the life of the Senior Notes using.All Senior Notes of Fresenius Finance B.V. are guaranteed by Fresenius SE, Fresenius Kabi AG and Fresenius ProServe GmbH. Fresenius SE has agreed to a number of covenants to provide protection to the bondholders, which, under certain circumstances, partly restrict the scope of action of Fresenius SE and its subsidiaries (excluding FMC-AG & Co. KGaA and its subsidiaries). These covenants include, amongst other things, restrictions on further debt that can be raised, the payment of dividends, the volume of capital expenditure, the redemption of subordinated liabilities and the mortgaging or sale of assets. Some of these restrictions are lifted automatically when the rating of Fresenius SE reaches investment grade. In the event of non-compliance with the terms of the Senior Notes, the bondholders (owning in aggregate more than 25% of the outstanding Senior Notes) are entitled to call the Senior Notes and demand immediate repayments plus interest. As of December 31, 2007, the Fresenius Group was in compliance with all of its covenants.