SES S.A.(Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) has announced the pricing of an inaugural hybrid bond offering—SES has agreed to sell:
- 750 million euros of Deeply Subordinated Fixed Rate Resettable Securities
- Coupon of 4.625 percent
This transaction is of strategic and long-term importance for SES and complements the recent equity raise which generated gross proceeds of 908.8 million. Together these transactions are fully consistent with SES’s commitment to maintaining its investment grade credit rating (BBB/ Baa2) in the context of the acquisition of a 100% interest in O3b Networks.
The Securities will be guaranteed on a subordinated basis by SES Global Americas Holdings GP. SES intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for the repayment of a portion of the existing indebtedness of O3b, the repayment of certain existing indebtedness of the Group as well as for general corporate purposes.
The hybrid bonds issued by SES are non-dilutive instruments that are expected to receive 50 percent equity treatment from each of Moody's and S&P’s and be classified as equity under IFRS.
The CFO of SES, Padraig McCarthy, said, “The successful completion of this hybrid issuance in benchmark size is an important element of our financing strategy and further diversifies SES's funding sources. The transaction was strongly supported by a wide range of high quality existing and new investors. A substantial part of the proceeds will be used to refinance expensive debt in O3b, an important synergy arising from the acquisition of our 100 percent ownership in O3b, along with senior SES debt maturing in the second half of 2016."