SES issues €400m bond
June 23, 2020
By Chris Forrester
SES has successfully issued a €400 million bond. The satellite operator says the issue was oversubscribed 2.5 times. The bond takes advantage of current low interest rates and will strengthen liquidity for SES which is about to spend around $1.6 billion on new satellites and infrastructure for its C-band transition over the US.
SES is due to repay €650 million of existing debt by March next year and will use the new financing plus €250 million “cash in hand” to clear the debt. SES then has no senior debt to pay until 2023.
BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, ING, J.P. Morgan, SMBC Nikko and Société Générale acted as Joint Bookrunners. The settlement is scheduled for July 2nd and application has been made for the notes to be listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. The securities were placed with a broad range of institutional investors across Europe.
ses, bond, CFO at SES, commented: “We are pleased to have secured this financing which allows us to proactively refinance an upcoming debt maturity at more favourable terms. The successful conclusion of this bond offering reflects the market’s view of SES as a strong investment grade credit, and underlines the ability of SES to secure funding at attractive terms.”