UK: BG Issues USD 1.2 Billion in Bonds

BG Group announced the issue of  £750 million of sterling-denominated bonds (approximately $1.2 billion). The 25-year bonds are due 4 November 2036 and pay a coupon of 5%. 

The bonds, which have been issued by BG Energy Capital plc, a wholly owned subsidiary of BG Group plc, and are guaranteed by BG Energy Holdings Limited. They are expected to be rated A, A2 and A by Fitch, Moody’s and Standard & Poors respectively.

The settlement of the offering will occur on 4 November 2011, subject to customary settlement conditions.

The bond issue was managed by a group of banks comprising BNP Paribas, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities, Santander GBM, Standard Chartered Bank and The Royal Bank of Scotland.

BG Group Chief Financial Officer, Fabio Barbosa said: “We are very pleased with the positive response from investors in the bond issue today. The order book was substantially oversubscribed, demonstrating yet again the market’s confidence in BG Group – especially in the current changeable international economic climate.

“Today’s offering builds upon the equally successful $3 billion US bond issue we completed earlier this month. It also takes advantage of the current low interest rate environment to lock in very attractive long-term funding costs. These bond issues, combined with our existing committed facilities of $5.75 billion, provide an important part of the financing for our growth plans.  The strong demand for our bonds clearly illustrates our good standing in the international debt markets and provides a strong endorsement from investors in our future growth strategy.”

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Source: BG, October 29, 2011