Continental AG, Hanover, has hired Credit Suisse to act as an independent consultant for “the upcoming financing topics within the corporation.” The move is widely seen as preparation for a refinancing project that could be worth as much as 1.5 billion euros. According to a statement reporting the news, the key task of the advisor is to evaluate options for future sustainable financing and capital structures as well as to enable an optimal refinancing of the company.

“For the upcoming tasks and meetings regarding various interrelated financing topics, we wanted to ensure that we also have the support of an independent consultant without prior or existing connections to any of the stakeholders of Continental,” said Continental CEO Dr. Elmar Degenhart on 17 September. “Our goal is to create a sound financial structure that continues to give us the flexibility to fully realize our strategic goals.”