Participation Certificates - Overview
Participation certificates are creditors’ instruments which securitise rights in a company’s assets similar to the rights of shareholders, which includes full participation in any losses the company may incur. The certificates can be precisely tailored to the needs of the issuing company.
Depending on the customer’s requirements, they can be designed as equity or debt certificates. When structuring a participation certificate, WestLB pays special attention to the accounting principles (e.g. HGB or IAS) applied by the company. A HGB participation certificate, for instance, has a fixed term and is repaid at maturity.