Bond K+S AG 4.125% ( XS0997941355 ) in EUR

Issuer K+S AG
Market price 100 %  ▼ 
Country  Germany
ISIN code  XS0997941355 ( in EUR )
Interest rate 4.125% per year ( payment 1 time a year)
Maturity 05/12/2021 - Bond has expired



Prospectus brochure of the bond K+S Aktiengesellschaft XS0997941355 in EUR 4.125%, expired


Minimal amount 1 000 EUR
Total amount 500 000 000 EUR
Detailed description K+S Aktiengesellschaft is a German multinational corporation primarily involved in the mining and processing of potash and salt, producing fertilizers and other specialty products.

The Bond issued by K+S AG ( Germany ) , in EUR, with the ISIN code XS0997941355, pays a coupon of 4.125% per year.
The coupons are paid 1 time per year and the Bond maturity is 05/12/2021







K+S Aktiengesellschaft
(Kassel, Federal Republic of Germany)
Up to EUR [ " ] [ " ] per cent. notes due 2018, issue Price: [ " ] per cent
Up to EUR [ " ] [ " ] per cent. notes due 2021, issue Price: [ " ] per cent
K+S Aktiengesellschaft, Bertha-von-Suttner-Strasse 7, 34131 Kassel, Germany (the "Issuer" or "K+S AG" and together with its
subsidiaries and affiliates, "K+S Group" or the "Group"), will issue on or about 6 December 2013 (the "Issue Date") EUR [ " ] [ " ] per
cent. fixed rate notes in bearer form due 2018 (the ³Tranche 1 Notes ´) with a denomination of EUR 1,000 and EUR [ " ] [ " ] per cent.
fixed rate notes in bearer form due 2021 with a denomination of EUR 1,000 (the ³Tranche 2 Notes ´ and together with the
Tranche 1 Notes the "Notes"). The Notes will be governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany ("Germany").
This prospectus (the "Prospectus") constitutes a prospectus within the meaning of Article 5.3 of the Directive 2003/71/EC of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003 (as amended, inter alia, by Directive 2010/73/EU) (the "Prospectus
Directive"). This Prospectus will be published in electronic form together with all documents incorporated by reference herein on the
website of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (www.bourse.lu).
This Prospectus has been approved by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
(the "CSSF") in its capacity as competent authority under the Luxembourg law relating to prospectuses for securities (Loi du 10
juil et 2005 relative aux prospectus pour valeurs mobilières), as amended, (the "Luxembourg Prospectus Law"), which implements
the Prospectus Directive into Luxembourg law. Pursuant to Article 7(7) of the Luxembourg Prospectus Law, by approving this
Prospectus,the CSSF gives no undertaking as to the economic and financial soundness of the transaction and the quality or
solvency of the Issuer. The Issuer has requested the CSSF to provide the competent authorities in Germany, Austria and The
Netherlands and may request to provide competent authorities in additional host Member States within the European Economic
Area with a certificate of approval attesting that the Prospectus has been drawn up in accordance with the Luxembourg Prospectus
Law (the "Notification").
Application has been made to the Luxembourg Stock Exchange for the Notes to be admitted to trading on the Luxembourg Stock
Exchange's regulated market and to be admitted to the official list of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (the "Official List"). The
Luxembourg Stock Exchange's regulated market is a regulated market for the purposes of Directive 2004/39/EC of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on markets in financial instruments, as amended.
The final issue price, the aggregate principal amount of Notes to be issued, the interest rate, the issue proceeds and the yield will be
included in the Pricing Notice (as defined in "SUBSCRIPTION, SALE AND OFFER OF THE NOTES" below) which will be filed with
the CSSF and published on the website of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (www.bourse.lu) on or prior to the Issue Date of the
Notes.
The Tranche 1 Notes have been assigned the following securities codes:
ISIN XS0997941199, Common Code 099794119, WKN A1YCR4.
The Tranche 2 Notes have been assigned the following securities codes:
ISIN XS0997941355, Common Code 099794135, WKN A1YCR5.
The Notes have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the
³ U.S. Securities Act ´ ) and the Notes are in bearer form that are subject to U.S. tax law requirements. Subject to certain
exceptions, the Notes may not be offered, sold or delivered within the United States of America ( ³ United States ´ ) or to, or
for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act ( ³ Regulation S ´ )).
Investing in the Notes involves certain risks. See ³ Risk Factors ´ beginning on page 36.
Joint Lead Managers
BNP PARIBAS
Deutsche Bank
DZ BANK AG
Morgan Stanley
Co-Managers
Commerzbank
Helaba
Société Générale
UniCredit Bank
Corporate & Investment
Banking
This Prospectus is dated 22 November 2013
1


RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT
K+S Aktiengesellschaft (the "Issuer" or "K+S AG" and together with its consolidated
subsidiaries the "Group" or the "K+S Group") accepts responsibility for the information
contained in this Prospectus and hereby declares that, having taken all reasonable care to
ensure that such is the case, the information contained in this Prospectus is, to the best of its
knowledge, in accordance with the facts and does not omit anything likely to affect its import.
The Issuer further confirms that (i) this Prospectus contains all information with respect to
the Issuer, K+S Group and the Notes which is material in the context of the issue and offering
of the Notes, including all information which, according to the particular nature of the Issuer
and of the Notes is necessary to enable investors and their investment advisers to make an
informed assessment of the assets and liabilities, financial position, profits and losses, and
prospects of the Issuer and K+S Group and of the rights attached to the Notes; (ii) the
information contained in this Prospectus relating to the Issuer, K+S Group and the Notes is
accurate and complete in all material respects and not misleading; (iii) that any opinions and
intentions expressed herein are honestly held and based on reasonable assumptions; (iv)
there are no other facts in relation to the Issuer, K+S Group or the Notes the omission of
which would, in the context of the issue and offering of the Notes, make this Prospectus as a
whole or any of such information or the expression of any such opinions or intentions
misleading; and (v) reasonable enquiries have been made by the Issuer to ascertain all such
facts for the purposes aforesaid.
NOTICE
No person is authorised to give any information or to make any representations other than
those contained in this Prospectus and, if given or made, such information or representations
must not be relied upon as having been authorised by or on behalf of the Issuer or the Joint
Lead Managers (as defined in "SUBSCRIPTION, SALE AND OFFER OF THE NOTES").
Neither the delivery of this Prospectus nor any offering, sale or delivery of any Notes made
hereunder shall, under any circumstances, create any implication (i) that the information in
this Prospectus is correct as of any time subsequent to the date hereof or, as the case may
be, subsequent to the date on which this Prospectus has been most recently supplemented,
or (ii) that there has been no adverse change in the financial situation of the Issuer which is
material in the context of the issue and sale of the Notes since the date of this Prospectus or,
as the case may be, the date on which this Prospectus has been most recently
supplemented, or the balance sheet date of the most recent financial statements which are
deemed to be incorporated into this Prospectus by reference or (iii) that any other information
supplied in connection with the issue of the Notes is correct at any time subsequent to the
date on which it is supplied or, if different, the date indicated in the document containing the
same.
This Prospectus contains certain forward-looking statements, including statements using
the words "believes", "anticipates" "intends", "expects" or other similar terms. This applies in
particular to statements under the caption "DESCRIPTION OF THE ISSUER ± Business
Overview" and statements elsewhere in this Prospectus relating to, among other things, the
future financial performance, plans and expectations regarding developments in the business
of the Issuer. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks,
uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, including the
financial position and profitability of the Issuer, to be materially different from or worse than
those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The Issuer does not assume
2


any obligation to update such forward-looking statements and to adapt them to future events
or developments.
Furthermore, this Prospectus contains industry related data taken or derived from industry
and market research reports published by third parties ("External Data"). Commercial
publications generally state that the information they contain originated from sources
assumed to be reliable, but that the accuracy and completeness of such information is not
guaranteed and that the calculations contained therein are based on a series of assumptions.
The External Data have not been independently verified by the Issuer.
The External Data was reproduced accurately by the Issuer in the Prospectus, and as far
as the Issuer is aware and is able to ascertain from information published by that third party,
no facts have been omitted that would render the reproduced External Data inaccurate or
misleading. The Issuer does not have access to the underlying facts and assumptions of
numerical and market data and other information contained in publicly available sources.
Consequently, numerical and market data or other information cannot be verified by the
Issuer.
This Prospectus should be read and understood in conjunction with any supplement
hereto and with any documents incorporated herein by reference. The final issue price, the
aggregate principal amount of Notes to be issued, the interest rate, the issue proceeds and
the yield of the issue will be included in the Pricing Notice (as defined in "SUBSCRIPTION,
SALE AND OFFER OF THE NOTES" below) which will be filed with the CSSF and published
on the website of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (www.bourse.lu) on or prior to the Issue
Date of the Notes.
Neither the Joint Lead Managers nor any other person mentioned in this Prospectus,
except for the Issuer, is responsible for the information contained in this Prospectus or any
other document incorporated herein by reference, and accordingly, and to the extent
permitted by the laws of any relevant jurisdiction, none of these persons accepts any
responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the information contained in any of these
documents.
Each investor contemplating purchasing any Notes should make its own independent
investigation of the financial condition and affairs, and its own appraisal of the
creditworthiness of the Issuer. This Prospectus does not constitute an offer of Notes or an
invitation by or on behalf of the Issuer or the Joint Lead Managers to purchase any Notes.
Neither this Prospectus nor any other information supplied in connection with the Notes
should be considered as a recommendation by the Issuer or the Joint Lead Managers to a
recipient hereof and thereof that such recipient should purchase any Notes.
This Prospectus does not constitute, and may not be used for the purposes of, an offer or
solicitation by anyone in any jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation is not authorised or
to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation.
The offer, sale and delivery of the Notes and the distribution of this Prospectus in certain
jurisdictions is restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this Prospectus comes are
required by the Issuer and the Joint Lead Managers to inform themselves about and to
observe any such restrictions. In particular, the Notes have not been, and will not be,
registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities
Act"), and are subject to special U.S. tax law requirements where held by U.S. persons
3


(TEFRA D rules). Subject to certain limited exceptions, the Notes may not be offered, sold or
delivered within the United States of America ("United States") or to U.S. persons.
For a further description of certain restrictions on offerings and sales of the Notes and
distribution of this Prospectus (or of any part thereof) see "SUBSCRIPTION, SALE AND
OFFER OF THE NOTES ± Sel ing Restrictions."
The legally binding language of this Prospectus is English. Any part of the Prospectus in
German language constitutes a translation, except for the terms and conditions of the Notes
(the "Terms and Conditions") in respect of which German is the legally binding language.
In this Prospectus, unless otherwise specified, all references to " ¼ ", "EUR" or "Euro" are to
the currency introduced at the start of the third stage of European economic and monetary
union, and as defined in Article 2 of Council Regulation (EC) No 974/98 of 3 May 1998 on the
introduction of the Euro, as amended, references to "USD" refer to the legal currency of the
United States of America and references to "CAD" refer to the legal currency of Canada.
IN CONNECTION WITH THE ISSUE OF THE NOTES, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, LONDON
BRANCH (OR PERSONS ACTING ON ITS BEHALF) MAY OVER-ALLOT NOTES OR
EFFECT TRANSACTIONS WITH A VIEW TO SUPPORTING THE PRICE OF THE NOTES
AT A LEVEL HIGHER THAN THAT WHICH MIGHT OTHERWISE PREVAIL. HOWEVER,
THERE IS NO ASSURANCE THAT DEUTSCHE BANK AG, LONDON BRANCH (OR
PERSONS ACTING ON ITS BEHALF) WILL UNDERTAKE STABILISATION ACTION. ANY
STABILISATION ACTION MAY BEGIN AT ANY TIME AFTER THE ADEQUATE PUBLIC
DISCLOSURE OF THE TERMS OF THE OFFER OF THE NOTES AND, IF BEGUN, MAY BE
ENDED AT ANY TIME, BUT IT MUST END NO LATER THAN THE EARLIER OF 30
CALENDAR DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF THE RECEIPT OF THE PROCEEDS OF THE
ISSUE BY THE ISSUER AND 60 CALENDAR DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF THE
ALLOTMENT OF THE NOTES. SUCH STABILISING SHALL BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH
ALL LAWS, DIRECTIVES, REGULATIONS AND RULES OF ANY RELEVANT
JURISDICTION.
This Prospectus may only be used for the purpose for which it has been published.
This Prospectus may not be used for the purpose of an offer or solicitation by
anyone in any jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation is not authorised or to any
person to whom it is unlawful to make such an offer or solicitation.
4


TABLE OF CONTENTS
SUMMARY....................................................................................................................... 6
GERMAN TRANSLATION OF THE SUMMARY (ZUSAMMENFASSUNG) .................... 20
RISK FACTORS ............................................................................................................ 36
USE OF PROCEEDS ..................................................................................................... 54
INFORMATION ON K+S AG AS ISSUER ...................................................................... 55
INFORMATION ON MINERAL DEPOSITS .................................................................... 76
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE NOTES ................................................................ 81
TAXATION................................................................................................................... 108
SUBSCRIPTION, SALE AND OFFER OF THE NOTES ............................................... 116
GENERAL INFORMATION.......................................................................................... 123
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE........................................................................... 125
5


SUMMARY
Summaries are made up of disclosure requirements known as "Elements". These elements are
numbered in Sections A ± E (A.1 ± E.7).
This summary contains all the Elements required to be included in a summary for this type of securities
and Issuer. Because some Elements are not required to be addressed, there may be gaps in the
numbering sequence of the Elements.
Even though an Element may be required to be inserted in the summary because of the type of
securities and Issuer, it is possible that no relevant information can be given regarding the Element. In
this case a short description of the Element is included in the summary with the mention of "not
applicable".
Section A ± Introduction and warnings
Element
Description of
Disclosure requirement
Element
A.1
Warnings
This summary should be read as an introduction to this Prospectus.
Any decision to invest in the Notes should be based on consideration
of this Prospectus as a whole by the investor.
Where a claim relating to the information contained in this Prospectus
is brought before a court, the plaintiff investor might, under the national
legislation of its member state to the Agreement on the European
Economic Area (EEA), have to bear the costs of translating this
Prospectus before the legal proceedings are initiated.
Civil liability attaches only to those persons who have tabled this
summary including any translation thereof, but only if this summary is
misleading, inaccurate or inconsistent when read together with the
other parts of this Prospectus or it does not provide, when read
together with the other parts of this Prospectus, key information in
order to aid investors when considering whether to invest in the Notes.
A.2
Consent to the Each of BNP PARIBAS, Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch, DZ
use of the
BANK AG Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank, Frankfurt am Main
prospectus
and Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc (each a "Joint Lead
Manager" and together the "Joint Lead Managers") and
Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft, Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen
Girozentrale, Société Générale and UniCredit Bank AG (each a "Co-
Manager" and together the "Co-Managers") and each further financial
intermediary subsequently reselling or finally placing the Notes is
entitled to use the Prospectus in Austria, Germany, The Netherlands
and Luxembourg for the subsequent resale or final placement of the
Notes during the period from and including 25 November 2013 to and
including 13 December 2013, provided however, that the Prospectus
is still valid in accordance with Article 11 of the Luxembourg act
relating to prospectuses for securities (Loi relative aux prospectus
pour valeurs mobilières) which implements Directive 2003/71/EC of
the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003 (as
6


amended, inter alia, by Directive 2010/73/EU of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 24
November 2010) (the
"Luxembourg Prospectus Law").
The Prospectus may only be delivered to potential investors together
with all supplements in accordance with Art. 13 of the Luxembourg
Prospectus Law published before such delivery. Any supplement to
the Prospectus in accordance with Art. 13 of the Luxemburg
Prospectus Law will be available for viewing in electronic form on the
website of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (www.bourse.lu).
When using the Prospectus, each relevant further financial
intermediary must make certain that it complies with all applicable laws
and regulations in force in the respective jurisdictions.
In the event of an offer being made by a further financial
intermediary, the further financial intermediary shall provide
information to investors on the terms and conditions of the Notes
at the time of that offer.
Section B ± Issuer
Element Description
of
Disclosure requirement
Element
B.1
Legal and
K+S Aktiengesellschaft
commercial
name
B.2
Domicile, legal
K+S Aktiengesellschaft ( ³K+S AG ´) is a German stock corporation
form,
(Aktiengesellschaft) incorporated and operating under the laws of the
legislation,
Federal Republic of Germany and domiciled in the Federal Republic of
country of
Germany.
incorporation
B.4b
Known trends
With respect to the potash and magnesium market Russian Uralkali ¶s
affecting the
exit from the BPC sales organisation operated jointly with Belarusian
Issuer and the
Belaruskali along with Uralkali ¶s related statement that it wants to
industries in
expand production and sales created considerable uncertainty about
which it
future volume and price developments on the market for potash
operates
fertilizers which continues to be the case. The announcement caused
tangible restraint with regard to purchasing decisions as no new stable
price level has been established yet. The level at which prices will
stabilise and the duration of this phase of uncertainty cannot be
assessed. This situation has already prompted some potash
producers, including K+S Group, to adjust production planning for
2013.
B.5
Description of
K+S AG mainly acts as the holding company for the K+S Group. The
the Group and
Executive Board takes responsibility for the overall performance of
the Issuer's
K+S Group. The Board Members are individually responsible for
7


position within (business) units of K+S Group according to the business distribution
the Group
plan.
B.9
Profit forecast
Not applicable. No profit forecasts or estimates are made.
or estimate
B.10
Nature of any
Not applicable. The auditors have issued unqualified audit reports for
qualifications
the consolidated financial statements for the fiscal years 2011 and
in the audit
2012.
report on
historical
financial
information
B.12
Selected
The following table sets out selected financial information relating to
historical key
the K+S Group. The information has been extracted from the audited
financial
consolidated financial statements of K+S AG for the fiscal year ended
information
31 December 2012 and the unaudited consolidated financial
statements of K+S AG for the interim period ended 30 September
2013, unless stated otherwise. These consolidated financial
statements of K+S AG have been prepared in accordance with the
International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the EU
³IFRS ´). In 2011, K+S Group divested the business activities of
COMPO and in 2012 the Nitrogen business. All income statement
figures and cash flow figures for the fiscal years 2012 and 2011 as well
as the balance sheet figures for 2012 refer to the continued operations
of the K+S Group. The balance sheet figures for 2011 were not
adjusted and therefore include the discontinued operations of the
Nitrogen business.
Period from
Period from
Financial year
Financial year
Financial year ended
1 January until
1 January until
ended 31 December
ended 31 December
31 December 2011
30 September 2013
30 September 2012
2012
2012
(audited
(unaudited)
(unaudited)
(unaudited
(audited
unless otherwise
figures adjusted
unless otherwise
indicated)
due to IAS 19)(1)
indicated)
(EUR in millions, unless otherwise indicated)
Revenues
2,972.5
2,993.7
3,935.3
3,935.3
3,996.8(5)
EBITDA from
739.0
790.6(4)
1,033.3
1,037.7
1,146.0(5)
continued
operations(2)
Group
360.7
428.1(4)
565.8
568.5
609.3(5)
earnings after
taxes from
continued
operations
Gross cash
490.9
625.1
813.0
813.0
859.0(5)
flow from
continued
operations
30 September 2013
30 September 2012
31 December 2012
31 December 2012
31 December 2011
Equity as of
3,432.7
3,314.9(4)
3,393.9
3,477.3
3,084.6
Total assets as
6,490.8
6,417.5(4)
6,596.6
6,639.0
6,056.9
of
Net
902.0
750.2
827.3
756.0(6)
610.8(6)
indebtedness(3)
as of
(unaudited)
Employees (full
14,473(6)
14,352(6)
14,362
14,362
14,338(5)
time
equivalent) as
of
(1)
Adjusted in accordance with the International Accounting Standards ("IAS") 19 ³Employee Benefits ´, which was approved by
the International Accounting Standards Board in June 2011 and endorsed by the EU in June 2012, to be applied for the first
time to financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2013. The changes have been applied retroactively with the beginning of
the comparative period, i.e. as of 1 January 2012. Figures taken from the unaudited consolidated financial statements for the
interim period ended 30 September 2013.
8


(2)
³EBITDA ´ is defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation excluding effects from market valuation
of forecast hedging instruments. Depreciation and amortisation includes write-downs of tangible and intangible assets. EBITDA
is not defined by IFRS. Potential investors should take into consideration that this figure is not applied in a consistent manner
or standardized, that its calculation can vary and that this figure by itself is not a basis to compare different companies.
Furthermore it does not substitute the financial key figures of the income statement and the cash flow statement that were
recognized in accordance with IFRS.
(3)
"Net indebtedness" is calculated as follows: current bank loans and overdrafts + non-current bank loans and overdrafts +
provisions for pensions and similar obligations + non-current provisions for mining obligations ± cash on hand and balances
with banks ± non-current and current securities and other financial investments ± reimbursement claim bond Morton Salt. Net
indebtedness is not defined by IFRS. Potential investors should take into consideration that this figure is not applied in a
consistent manner or standardized, that its calculation can vary and that this figure by itself is not a basis to compare different
companies. Furthermore it does not substitute the financial key figures of the balance sheet that were recognized in
accordance with IFRS.
(4)
Adjusted in accordance with IAS 19. Figures taken from the unaudited consolidated financial statements for the interim period
ended 30 September 2013.
(5)
Adjusted in accordance with IFRS 5. All income and expenses of the Nitrogen and COMPO businesses, classified as
discontinued operations, were disclosed in a separate item ³Earnings after taxes from discontinued operations ´ and are
therefore not reflected in the items presented. Figures are taken from the audited consolidated financial statements for the
financial year ended 31 December 2012.
(6)
Not extracted from financial statements.
Material
Russian Uralkali ¶s exit from the BPC sales organisation operated
adverse
jointly with Belarusian Belaruskali along with Uralkali ¶s related
change in the
statement that it wants to expand production and sales created
prospects of
considerable uncertainty about future volume and price developments
the Issuer
on the market for potash fertilizers which continues to be the case. The
announcement caused tangible restraint with regard to purchasing
decisions as no new stable price level has been established yet. The
level at which prices will stabilise and the duration of this phase of
uncertainty cannot be assessed. This situation has already prompted
some potash producers, including K+S Group, to adjust production
planning for 2013.
Therefore, K+S AG expects that the operating earnings of K+S Group
as well as the adjusted Group earnings after taxes will significantly
decrease compared to the level achieved in 2012 while revenues are
expected to remain at the same level as in 2012.
Other than this, there has been no material adverse change in the
prospects of K+S AG since 31 December 2012.
Significant
Not applicable: There have been no significant changes in the financial
change in the
or trading position of the Issuer since 30 September 2013.
financial or
trading
position
B.13
Recent Events
Russian Uralkali ¶s exit from the BPC sales organisation operated
jointly with Belarusian Belaruskali along with Uralkali ¶s related
statement that it wants to expand production and sales created
considerable uncertainty about future volume and price developments
on the market for potash fertilizers and this continues to be the case.
The level at which prices will stabilise and the duration of this phase of
uncertainty cannot be assessed. This situation has already prompted
some potash producers, including K+S Group, to adjust production
planning for 2013.
The exceptionally strong outburst of carbon dioxide caused by
extraction blasting at the Unterbreizbach mine site on 1 October 2013
caused the mine to be closed and the introduction of short time work,
with limited resumption of crude salt extraction only possible since
11 November 2013. This will very likely adversely affect K+S Group's
9


annual potash output since compensation by other plants is not
planned.
B.14
Statement on Please refer to Element B.5 above.
dependency
Not applicable. The Issuer is the parent company of K+S Group. It is
upon other not dependent upon other entities within K+S Group.
entities within
the Group
B.15
Principal
K+S AG and its subsidiaries are worldwide suppliers of specialised
activities
and standard fertilizers and salt products.
Potash and Magnesium Products
The Potash and Magnesium Products business unit extracts potash
and magnesium crude salts at six mines in Germany, which are further
processed there and at a former mining site to create end and
intermediate products. Furthermore, the business unit has three
processing sites in France. The annual production capacity of the
business unit is up to 7.5 million tonnes of potash and magnesium
products. As a result of an advanced greenfield project for the
construction of a solution mine (the ³Legacy Project ´), the business
unit is expected to be able to increase its annual production capacity
by at least 2.86 million tonnes over the long term. A broad distribution
network facilitates the sale of these products in Europe and overseas.
Salt
In the Salt business unit, the K+S Group markets food grade salt,
industrial salt, salt for chemical use and de-icing salt. With an annual
production capacity of about 30 million tonnes of salt, K+S Group is
the world ¶s largest producer of salt products (source: Roskill
Information Services, Salt: Global Industry Markets and Outlook, 13th
ed. 2011). The Salt business unit is represented in Europe as well as
North America and South America with its own distribution units.
Furthermore, the business unit exports salt products to Asia and other
regions of the world. The business unit comprises the sub-units esco ±
european salt company GmbH & Co. KG ("esco"), whose activities are
mainly focused on Europe, K+S Chile S.A. ("K+S Chile") with activities
in South America and the United States, and Morton Salt Inc., one of
the largest salt producers in North America. esco operates three rock
salt mines, two brine plants and several evaporated salt plants in
Germany, France, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain, and has
numerous distribution sites in Europe. The annual production capacity
of esco is about 8.0 million tonnes of crystallised salt and 1.7 million
tonnes of salt in brine. K+S Chile extracts rock salt in Salar Grande de
Tarapacá through open-cast mining. In 2013, the production capacity
was expanded to about 8 million tonnes. Moreover, Salina Diamante
Branco, which belongs to K+S Salt LA from an organisational point of
view, operates a sea salt facility with an annual capacity of 0.5 million
tonnes in the north-eastern part of Brazil. In the United States, K+S
Chile distributes its salt products via the International Salt Company,
10