On 29 June TAURON Polska Energia signed agreement to increase the value of the Company’s bond issue program by PLN 2.75 bn. Thanks to the agreement, TAURON will be able to issue bonds in tranches until mid-December 2017. Funds obtained from the bond issue will be allocated to finance investment program and cover general corporate expenses.
The bond issue program has been extended by two new tranches – D and E worth respectively PLN 2.47 billion and PLN 275 million. TAURON will be able to use particular tranches in a more flexible way. Bond maturity is between 1 and 60 months and interest rate will be set at 1M, 3M or 6M WIBOR increased by a fixed margin.
“Extension of the bond issue program will allow us to secure funds for major investments planned for the coming years, as well as other capital needs that may arise in the future”, said Dariusz Lubera, President of the Management Board at TAURON Polska Energia S.A.
Face value and issue value of a single bond is PLN 100,000 and the duration of the program has been set at 5 years from the issuing date of bonds from each tranche, but not later than by 15 December 2017.
“Thanks to the bonds combined with other sources of capital, including our own resources, we are highly flexible. Extension of the program does not mean that the Company’s debt will automatically grow. This will happen in the most favorable moment for us. Thanks to this form of funding, the Company’s debt will stay at a safe, controlled level”, said Krzysztof Zawadzki, Vice-President of the Management Board, CFO at TAURON Polska Energia S.A.
The banks that signed the agreement include Bank Handlowy, ING Bank Śląski, Bank Polska Kasa Opieki, BRE Bank, Powszechna Kasa Oszczędności Bank Polski, Nordea Bank Polska, Nordea Bank AB, BNP Paribas Bank Polska and Bank Zachodni WBK.
The bonds will be covered by an underwriting guarantee, i.e. the Underwriters (banks being the parties to the Agreement) will be obligated to purchase the bonds issued by the Company under the Program. The bonds are uncollateralized bearer bonds.
In December 2011 TAURON issued bonds worth PLN 3.3 bn whose maturity falls in December 2012 (PLN 300 million) and December 2016 (PLN 3 bn). The funds were allocated to purchase Górnośląski Zakład Elektroenergetyczny (GZE) from Vattenfall.
