GERMAN shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd has placed a five-year 7.75 per cent EUR250 million (US$338.1 million) bond with institutional investors, which have oversubscribed the issue several times over, said the company.

The proceeds of the bond will be used to pay down debt of EUR200 million and for early payment of senior notes of EUR50 million due in 2015.

The bond will be listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, an offering supported by Deutsche Bank as lead left bookrunner as well as by Citigroup and JPMorgan. Co-Managers were Berenberg Bank, IKB Deutsche Industriebank, MM Warburg and Morgan Stanley.