Sorin Group: €100 Million Loan from the European Investment Bank to Fund Research & Development Projects in Italy and France

Sorin Group (MIL:SRN) (Reuters Code: SORN.MI), a global medical device company and a leader in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, announced today the finalization of a €100 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB).

The EIB facility will fund research and development projects both in Italy and France related to the development of new products and products improvements in Cardiac Surgery, Cardiac Rhythm Management and New Ventures (therapeutic solutions for the treatment of heart failure and mitral valve regurgitation). The projects cover the entire development from pre-clinical studies to clinical trials for the 2014-2016 period. The loan represents approximately one third of Sorin’s planned investment expenditure in Italy and France during the 2014-2016 period. In 2013 Sorin Group dedicated over 10% of its sales to R&D, with approximately 15% of its personnel working in R&D centers in Italy, France, Germany and North America.

The 7-year loan has a pre-payment grace period of up to 12 months and bears economic conditions which are competitive with the market benchmark. This facility follows a first loan obtained from EIB in 2007, a 7-year facility due June 2014, used to finance Sorin’s research and development activities during the period 2007-2009.

"Sorin Group is committed to continuous innovation and, thanks to EIB’s support, our commitment is to continue to provide patients and healthcare professionals worldwide with cutting-edge innovative therapeutic solutions,” said André-Michel Ballester, CEO of Sorin Group. "This facility, which follows EIB 7-year loan due June 2014, is a further sign of EIB confidence in Sorin’s R&D investments in the cardiovascular industry.”

"Lending for research and development is one of the priority areas of intervention of the European Union Bank’s business,” said Dario Scannapieco, Vice President of European Investment Bank. "We are therefore very pleased about this second transaction with Sorin Group, a global device company with over 40 years of excellence in Research and Development”.

About Sorin Group

Sorin Group (Reuters Code: SORN.MI), is a global medical device company and a leader in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. The Company develops, manufactures and markets medical technologies for cardiac surgery and for the treatment of cardiac rhythm disorders. With 3,750 employees worldwide, the Company focuses on two major therapeutic areas: Cardiac Surgery (cardiopulmonary products for open heart surgery and heart valve repair or replacement products) and Cardiac Rhythm Management (pacemakers, defibrillators, cardiac resynchronization devices). Every year, over one million patients are treated with Sorin Group devices in more than 80 countries.

For more information, please refer to www.sorin.com