Assured Guaranty Wraps Port of Brisbane Bond Issuance
September 05 2018 - 01:00AM
Business Wire
AUD $100 million Guaranteed Financing for the
Port of Brisbane - a Significant Transaction for Assured Guaranty
in the Australian Market
Assured Guaranty (Europe) plc (AGE)* announced that it
guaranteed principal and interest payments on $100 million
Australian dollars of bonds issued by QPH Finance Co Pty Limited,
the primary bond issuer for the Port of Brisbane in Australia. The
bond issuance is to refinance existing facilities and for general
corporate purposes at the Port of Brisbane.
The 25-year fixed-rate bonds were recently issued to a group of
South Korean investors, of which DB Life Insurance Co., Ltd was the
largest single investor, at a coupon of 4.71% as a private
placement. AGE’s credit protection was provided on a secondary
market basis for the ultimate benefit of those investors,
simultaneously with the bond issuance. As a result of the financial
guarantee provided by AGE, the investors were able to benefit from
AGE’s AA rating from S&P Global Ratings.
The Port of Brisbane is the largest multi-cargo port in the
state of Queensland.
Dominic Nathan, Managing Director, AGE, commented:
"This is a significant transaction for AGE in the Australian
market, and our first new deal in Australia since the global
financial crisis. We are delighted to have marked our return by
guaranteeing a debt issuance by the operators of such a vitally
important piece of infrastructure as the Port of Brisbane. We
expect to replicate our success on this transaction with other
Australian infrastructure or utility companies that seek to take
advantage of our long term and cost-effective funding
solution.”
Nick Proud, Chief Executive Officer of AGE, commented:
"The transaction provides evidence of AGE’s ability to innovate
and add value in new markets. Our credit analysis and risk
monitoring expertise across a number of jurisdictions and asset
classes, coupled with the significant regulatory capital savings
generated by AGE’s credit protection, facilitates the participation
of investors in Asia in the international infrastructure and
utility debt capital markets. This ultimately opens up a new
universe of potential investors for issuers like the Port of
Brisbane.”
AGE guarantees timely payment of scheduled principal and
interest to bondholders throughout the life of the bonds, in
accordance with the terms of its financial guarantees.
The legal advisers of AGE on the transaction were White &
Case (Sydney) and Linklaters (London). Sydney based DTW Capital
Solutions provided financial advice and Allen & Overy provided
legal advice to the investors.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
All of the securities having been sold, this announcement is
for information purposes only. This announcement does not
constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy
any securities.
The securities described herein have not been and will not be
registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as
amended ("Securities Act"), or with any securities regulatory
authority of any state or jurisdiction of the United States, and
may not be offered, sold or transferred, directly or indirectly, in
the United States absent registration under the Securities Act or
an available exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to,
the registration requirements of the Securities Act and the
securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United
States.
* AGE (company number 2510099) is authorised by the Prudential
Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct
Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. AGE provides its
financial guarantee together with a co-guarantee from its affiliate
Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp. (AGM).
Through its subsidiaries, Assured Guaranty Ltd. (AGL and,
together with its subsidiaries, Assured Guaranty) is the
leading provider of financial guarantees for principal and interest
payments due on municipal, public infrastructure and structured
financings. Its subsidiary AGM guarantees international
infrastructure and U.S. municipal bonds - and was previously named
Financial Security Assurance Inc. (FSA) before becoming an Assured
Guaranty company in July 2009. AGE, a subsidiary of AGM, is Assured
Guaranty’s European operating platform. AGL is a publicly traded
(NYSE: AGO), Bermuda-based holding company. More information on AGL
and its subsidiaries can be found at AssuredGuaranty.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements:
Any forward-looking statements made in this press release
reflect Assured Guaranty’s current views with respect to future
events and are made pursuant to the safe harbour provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements
involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to
differ materially from those set forth in these statements. These
risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those
resulting from Assured Guaranty’s inability to execute its
strategies; the demand for Assured Guaranty’s financial guarantees;
further actions that the rating agencies may take with respect to
Assured Guaranty’s financial strength ratings; adverse developments
in Assured Guaranty’s guaranteed portfolio; and other risks and
uncertainties that have not been identified at this time,
management’s response to these factors, and other risk factors
identified in AGL’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on
these forward-looking statements, which are made as of
September 5, 2018. Assured Guaranty undertakes no obligation
to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise,
except as required by law.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180904005777/en/
Assured GuarantyRobert Tucker, +1-212-339-0861Senior Managing
Director, Investor Relations and Corporate
Communicationsrtucker@agltd.comorAshweeta Durani,
+1-212-408-6042Vice President, Corporate
Communicationsadurani@agltd.com
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