Monheim am Rhein, 05. March 2025
VEDRA Pensions GmbH ('VEDRA') will take over the German pension liabilities of Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe Privatbank AG ('HAL'), currently totaling almost 800 eligible pensioners and former employees, by way of a buy-out.
VEDRA will take over a pensioner company previously set-up by HAL. As a result, VEDRA assumes all the risks and liabilities associated with the pension scheme. These will be managed within the VEDRA group. In addition, a two-tier trust structure (CTA) will ensure that the trust assets are used for a specific purpose. In order to ensure an appropriate alignment of interests, VEDRA will make an equity investment in the pensioner company, which is customary internationally.
Lampe Asset Management GmbH (LAM) will be responsible for HAL's pension obligations as an external manager in the area of liquid assets. This will allow the pensioner company to continue to benefit from LAM's extensive experience in the management of cash flow-oriented and value-preserving investments. External specialized asset managers will be commissioned to invest the trust assets in accordance with jointly agreed investment guidelines. The scheme will be implemented under the umbrella of the VEDRA Spezialfonds.
“In VEDRA, we've found an experienced and, above all, financially strong partner to help manage our Bank's pensions. We were particularly convinced by the financial security, the many years of experience in the operational management of a pensioner company and the equity contribution of VEDRA as a risk carrier, which is in line with international standards. We see clear advantages for all parties involved, especially for the support of the pensioners, and are looking forward to working together”, says Michael Bentlage, Chairman of the Management Board of HAL.
“The increase in company pension payments and the associated fluctuations in the balance sheet are a challenge for companies. Pension buy-outs with specialized risk providers are often a preferred option worldwide and are also attracting increasing attention in Germany”, says Tilo Kraus, Managing Director of VEDRA Pensions, and adds: "Especially for banks, this can be an interesting solution due to regulatory requirements and capital adequacy rules.
For the legal advice and structuring of the buy-out, VEDRA engaged the international commercial law firm Freshfields, which has extensive experience in buy-out transactions.
The Freshfields team was led by partner Dr Thomas Granetzny and included Dr Philipp Pütz, Dr Philipp Redeker (all partners) and Dr Maxim Gomer and Julia Kilp (associates).
HAL received legal and structural advice from PwC Legal and PwC Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft.
PwC's legal team is supporting negotiations with VEDRA on the appropriate capitalization and implementation of the pension buy-out, led by director Dietmar Ketzer. The WpG team at PwC, led by partner Gunnar Hasselmann, is supporting the implementation of the accounting and tax aspects and is carrying out the due diligence, in particular with regard to the modelling of the capital investment in the pension company.
Eva Säljemar, Corporate Strategy Manager at HAL, is the lead manager on the private bank side of the transaction.
About VEDRA Pensions
VEDRA Pensions GmbH is a German holding company that specialises in innovative and pragmatic solutions related to pension buy-outs. Since its foundation in 2016, VEDRA has proven itself in the German market when it comes to relieving companies of the risks associated with pension obligations: Inflation risk, longevity risk, interest rate risk and market risk. The VEDRA model results in a complete economic and legal relief of the company from liability, in combination with the derecognition of the obligations from the balance sheet. For the entitled pensioners, this has the advantage that the obligations are fully funded. VEDRA currently supports several thousand beneficiaries.
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