SES prices €1bn hybrid dual-tranche bond offering
September 6, 2024

SES has announced the successful launch and pricing of a hybrid dual-tranche bond offering in which it has agreed to sell Deeply Subordinated Fixed Rate Resettable Securities for a total amount of €1 billion.
The transaction is composed of a €500 million 30-year Non-Call (NC) 5.25-year tranche with a first reset date on December 12th 2029 and a €500 million 30-year NC eight-year tranche with a first reset date on September 12th 2032. The NC 5.25-year notes will bear a coupon of 5.5 per cent per annum and were priced at 99.473 per cent of their nominal value while the NC 8-year notes will bear a coupon of 6 per cent per annum and were priced at par.
The successful outcome was the result of strong investor engagement and demand as evidenced by a sizeable order book which peaked above €4 billion in total and allowed SES to price the notes competitively on both tranches.
The instrument’s credit ratings are expected to be Ba2 and BB+ with Moody’s and Fitch respectively and will also rank pari-passu with SES outstanding €625 million Deeply Subordinated Fixed Rate Resettable Securities, with a first reset date on August 27th 2026. The new hybrid bonds issued by SES are non-dilutive instruments that are expected to receive 50 per cent equity credit by both rating agencies and be classified as financial liabilities under IFRS.
The settlement is scheduled for September 12th 2024 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.
Proceeds of the issuance will be used for general corporate purposes, including financing the acquisition of Intelsat and/or refinancing any existing indebtedness of the Group.
Sandeep Jalan, Chief Financial Officer of SES, commented: “We are pleased to have secured this new hybrid offering. The success of this transaction demonstrates investors’ confidence in SES’s investment grade credit and strong cash-generation profile.”
Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley acted as Global Coordinators, together with BNP Paribas, Citi, HSBC and SMBC as Joint Bookrunners.