Fresenius SE Asked to Take Writedown on Greek Bonds

(Corrects name of company in headline and first paragraph.)

Fresenius SE (FME), the German operator of the Helios hospital chain and the Fresenius Kabi infusion- therapy distributor, was asked to take writedowns on Greek government bonds it received in lieu of unpaid hospital bills.

Fresenius accepted in 2010 an amount of bonds in the double-digit millions of euros, a spokesman for the Bad Homburg, Germany-based company said by phone today. Fresenius has already sold the most of the bonds, which were included in the company’s profit and loss statement with no significant or material effect, the spokesman said. He declined to be more specific about the original amount or the remainder.

In terms of the company’s overall sales, the amount is very small and will have no effect on Fresenius’s finances, the spokesman said.

Fresenius SE (FRE) owns about 30 percent of Fresenius Medical Care AG, the Bad Homburg, Germany-based provider of kidney dialysis.

To contact the reporter on this story: Simeon Bennett in Geneva at sbennett9@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Phil Serafino at pserafino@bloomberg.net