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Merckle suicide won't impact family's loans-sources

Tue Jan 6, 2009 11:05am EST

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FRANKFURT, Jan 6 (Reuters) - German billionaire Adolf Merckle's suicide is not expected to have an impact on his family's loan agreements with banks, banking sources told Reuters on Tuesday.

Merckle's family earlier confirmed the 74-year-old killed himself, broken by financial turmoil and struggling to salvage his business empire.

The family controls a number of German companies including cementmaker HeidelbergCement (HEIG.DE) and generic drug company Ratiopharm, but its empire was rocked last year by wrong-way bets made on shares in carmaker Volkswagen (VOWG.DE).

Banking sources had told Reuters the family lost hundreds of millions of euros on investments, with losses of about 400 million euros ($539.4 million) on Volkswagen shares alone.

It has been in talks for weeks with banks to renegotiate loans. (Reporting by Philip Halstrick; Writing by Maria Sheahan)



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