Fonterra trims bond sale to $150 mln after securing offshore funds
By Paul McBeth
Feb. 11 (BusinessWire) – Fonterra Cooperative Group, the world’s largest exporter of dairy products, has slashed $100
million from a bond offer opening next week, saying it was able to source funding from offshore at a “very attractive
cost.”
The dairy cooperative is offering up to $100 million of unsecured fixed rate senior bonds, with the ability to take up
to $50 million in oversubscriptions, which will mature on March 4, 2016. The company plans to use the funds to partially
repay a 300 million euro medium term note that matures in April, as well as use it for general operations.
“The offer size has been scaled back to a maximum of $150 million as Fonterra has been able to cover part of its
financing requirements overseas at a very attractive funding cost,” it said in a statement.
Joint leaders for the issue will be ANZ Bank, Bank of New Zealand and Westpac Institutional Bank.
The offer opens next Thursday at a minimum investment of $5,000 with multiples of $1,000 thereafter. The coupon will be
announced next Wednesday.
Fitch Ratings has assigned the issue an AA- rating while Standard & Poor’s has given it an A+ rating.
(BusinessWire)