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Aussie engineering consultancy firm cements 5-year eurobond
Global law firm Allen & Overy has advised BNP Paribas, HSBC, Bank of China, Standard Chartered Bank and Wells Fargo as joint lead managers on a transaction that sees Australian-headquartered engineering consultancy firm Worley undertake a five-year eurobond.
Reporter
Firm: Allen & Overy (BNP Paribas, HSBC, Bank of China, Standard Chartered Bank and Wells Fargo).
Value: €500 million.
Area: Finance, corporate.
Key players: The Allen & Overy team was led by partner Minesh Patel with support from associates Thomas Pertsoulis, Caitlin Lee and Kevin Lee.
Deal significance: As per a statement provided by Allen & Overy, Worley’s sustainability-linked bond (SLB) transaction is a “ground-breaking deal by an Australian corporate on the global stage”.
“It is the first public SLB transaction from an Australian corporate in any market and is Worley’s first-ever public capital markets deal. Worley is the first issuer globally to execute its debut public transaction as an SLB. The transaction marked the inaugural issuance under Worley’s recently established USD 2 billion euro medium term note programme,” the firm’s statement noted.
“The transaction was also significant as it was the largest issue size and lowest coupon ever paid for any five-year euro issue by a BBB rated Australian company.”
Allen & Overy statement added that the SLB “is an important step in Worley’s decarbonisation strategy as the deal is linked to a single bold key performance target of a 50 per cent reduction in scope 1 and scope 2 CO2 greenhouse gas emissions from a 2020 baseline by 2025”.
Commenting further, partner Mr Patel said: “Worley’s first sustainability-linked bond issuance is noteworthy on multiple fronts. Worley has broken new ground for an Australian company in SLB issuance and we expect this deal to set a precedent for other corporates considering raising debt in this category, especially those targeting an offshore investor base that is becoming increasingly selective in their assessment of SLBs.
“The deal signals the start of a rapid rise of sustainability-linked bonds and loans in the Australian market. For our part, the Allen & Overy capital markets and finance teams are increasingly advising on funding deals linked to performance indicators such as decarbonisation, social sustainability and good corporate governance.
“The capital markets landscape for Australian issuers is transforming swiftly. Sustainability is now a leading concern for corporates and investors alike and we expect to see these elements more frequently as part of transaction structures going forwards.
“It was a pleasure to advise BNP Paribas, HSBC, Bank of China, Standard Chartered and Wells Fargo in their roles and to work alongside the Worley team and their advisers to execute the transaction.”
