EnBW successfully issues green subordinated bond

Karlsruhe. EnBW today successfully issued a green subordinated bond issue with a total issue size of €500 million. The high level of investor demand was reflected in an order book of around €4.5 billion at its peak.

In line with the criteria in the EnBW Green Financing Framework, the proceeds will be used exclusively to fund climate-friendly projects. These include solar farms in Germany and France, onshore and offshore wind farms, fast-charging stations for electric vehicles and the expansion and upgrading of grid infrastructure.

EnBW’s sustainability-oriented business model spans the entire energy value chain. “As one of the largest utilities in Germany, EnBW covers all facets of the energy transition. We consistently base our investment decisions on sustainability criteria. Including today’s issue, EnBW has already issued green bonds for a total of €5.5 billion since 2018,” said CFO Thomas Kusterer.

Rating agencies Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s classify 50% of the subordinated bond as equity. This has a positive impact on EnBW’s rating-related financial performance indicators.

Sustainability rating agency ISS-Corporate has confirmed that today’s EnBW green subordinated bond complies with the Green Bond Principles and has good sustainability credentials. EnBW has also been reaffirmed as having good sustainability performance. In addition, the green bond is certified according to the high standards of the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI). These include detailed sector-specific criteria for qualifying as a green bond.

The green subordinated bond has a term of 60 years. EnBW has the right to redeem the bond, which has an initial coupon of 5.250%, for the first time on 23 October 2029. The bond is subordinated to all other financial liabilities and ranks pari passu with EnBW’s outstanding subordinated bonds.

EnBW was supported in the issue by a banking syndicate comprising Deutsche Bank, HSBC and SMBC together with Barclays, MUFG, NatWest and Société Générale. The issue date is 23 January 2024.