AKC
09/03/2015 14:03
GENERAL
PRICE SENSITIVE
REL: 1403 HRS Auckland Council
GENERAL: AKC: Auckland Council opens a retail bond issue
Media Release
9 March 2015
Auckland Council opens a retail bond issue
Auckland Council confirmed today that it is seeking to raise NZ$150 million,
with the right to accept up to NZ$100 million of oversubscriptions, by way of
retail bond issue. The proceeds of the issue will be used for the general
purposes of the council, including refinancing maturing debt and funding
investment in projects across the region.
The offer, which is expected to open tomorrow, is for 5.5-year fixed-rate
secured bonds, with an indicative margin in the low 0.30s% per annum area
over the swap rate for the same period. The actual margin and interest rate
of the bonds will be announced following a bookbuild, and after the offer
closes on Friday 13 March 2015. The council reserves the right to vary the
closing day of the offer or not proceed with the offer.
The bonds are expected to be assigned a long-term credit rating of AA from
Standard & Poor's and Aa2 from Moody's and are expected to be quoted on the
NZX Debt Market*.
The minimum investment amount is NZ$5,000, with multiples of NZ$1,000
thereafter.
The bonds are secured by a charge over the rates revenue of Auckland Council
and will rank equally with all other secured debt of Auckland Council. The
security is first ranking although other security may be preferred by law
(including security interests that may have priority under the Personal
Property Securities Act).
Full details of the bond issue are contained in the attached series notice. A
copy of the presentation that the council will be giving in relation to the
bond offer is also attached.
The offer is being made in accordance with the Financial Markets Conduct Act
2013 as an offer of debt securities of the same class as quoted debt
securities. The notice required by the Financial Markets Conduct Regulations
2014 has been provided to NZX and is attached.
For details of the application process for the bonds, investors should:
- contact one of the joint lead managers:
ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited 0800 269 476
Bank of New Zealand 0800 284 017
Commonwealth Bank of Australia 0800 272 633
Westpac Banking Corporation 0800 942 822
- contact an authorised financial advisor.
There is no public pool for the offer, with 100% of the bonds reserved for
the clients of the joint lead managers, institutional investors and other
approved participants.
*Application has been made to NZX Limited for permission to quote the bonds
on the NZX Debt Market and all the requirements of NZX relating to that
application that can be complied with on or before the date of this
announcement have been duly complied with. However, NZX accepts no
responsibility for any statement in this announcement. NZX is a licensed
market operator, and the NZX Debt Market is a licensed market under the
Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013.
Ends
For media assistance, please contact:
John Bishop
Treasurer, Auckland Council
Phone 09 301 0101
End CA:00261598 For:AKC Type:GENERAL Time:2015-03-09 14:03:59
