15 aprile 2022
Yesterday, ESTRA completed the placement of a €80 million bond. The bond, which will have a term of five years, pays an annual coupon of 3.05% and will be repaid at par in a single payment at maturity.
The bond, placed exclusively with leading institutional investors, has been admitted to listing on the regulated market managed by Euronext Dublin.
The issue is aimed at partially refinancing the existing debt, as well as at supporting the Group's investment plan, in line with the strategy of diversification and extension of funding sources already successfully launched by the Company with its first international bond issue dating back to 2015.
Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank and Mediobanca Banca di Credito Finanziario S.p.A. acted as Joint Global Coordinators and Joint Lead Managers, MPS Capital Services as Joint Lead Manager. White and Case assisted Estra as legal advisor, whereas the banks were assisted by Gianni & Origoni.
Alessandro Piazzi, Chief Executive Officer of Estra, stated: “Despite the current complex energy and financial markets, exacerbated by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, our Group successfully concluded the fourth bond issue in its history. We think that the importance of the decision to carry out this transaction goes beyond purely financial reasons, as it is a further proof for our stakeholders of the appreciation shown by the financial system regarding the process of constant improvement in the Group's management and financial performance. Although impacted by the sharply rising market rates due to the well-known inflationary dynamics, the coupon still incorporates the lowest credit spread in the history of the Group's bond issues.”
Estra
Established in 2010, the Estra Group is among Central Italy’s leading companies in the distribution and sale of natural gas and electricity sales sector. To date, Estra’s four shareholders (Consiag, Coingas, Intesa and Viva Energia) represent 139 municipalities in the provinces of Ancona, Arezzo, Florence, Grosseto, Macerata, Pistoia, Prato and Siena.
The Estra Group operates through its subsidiaries, joint ventures and related companies mainly in Tuscany, Umbria, Marche, Abruzzo, Molise, Puglia, Campania, Calabria, and Sicily and is active in the distribution and sale of natural gas and LPG, and in the sale of electricity. In addition, it operates in telecommunications, in the planning and management of energy services and in renewable energy production.