AKC
21/03/2016 08:35
GENERAL
PRICE SENSITIVE
REL: 0835 HRS Auckland Council
GENERAL: AKC: Auckland Council opens a retail bond issue
21 March 2016
Auckland Council opens a retail bond issue
Auckland Council confirmed today that it is seeking to raise up to NZ$150
million, with the right to accept up to NZ$100 million of oversubscriptions,
by way of a 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 opens today, is for four-year fixed-rate secured bonds, with
an indicative margin in the range of 0.60 to 0.70 per cent per annum 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
Wednesday 23 March 2016. 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:
o contact one of the joint lead managers:
ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited
0800 269 476
Westpac Banking Corporation (acting through its New Zealand branch)
0800 942 822
o 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.
Ends
For media assistance, please contact:
Jessica Etheridge
Media Adviser, Auckland Council
021 895847
End CA:00279555 For:AKC Type:GENERAL Time:2016-03-21 08:35:49
