[28] Financial liabilities Audited

This item comprises:

Bank financing commitments vis-á-vis the Merck Group are as follows:

The current and non-current liabilities of the Merck Group to banks were denominated in the following currencies:

In fiscal 2007, a EUR 2 billion multi-currency term loan and revolving credit facility was agreed. The loan has a term of seven years and was agreed with an international banking syndicate.

In 2009, Merck set up a debt issuance program that forms the contractual basis for the issue of bonds with a nominal volume of up to EUR 5 billion. In 2010, this volume was increased to EUR 10 billion.

The following bonds were issued by the Merck Group:

Moreover, the Millipore Corporation, USA, still has convertible bonds with a nominal volume of USD 27.2 million. The possibility to convert these bonds into shares no longer exists.

The bonds issued by Merck Financial Services GmbH in 2010 serve to finance the acquisition of Millipore Corporation, USA, and are admitted to trading on the regulated market of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. In the fourth quarter of 2010, a bond issued by Merck KGaA with a volume of EUR 500 million matured and was repaid in full.

In order to meet short-term capital requirements, Merck KGaA issued a commercial paper program with a volume of EUR 2 billion, of which a nomimal amount of EUR 10.0 million had been utilized as of the reporting date.

Liabilities from financial leasing represent the discounted amount of future payments arising from finance leases. This item primarily relates to liabilities from finance leases for buildings. Information on liabilities due to related parties can be found in Note [50].