Foster's Group Limited (Foster's) today announced it had successfully priced a US dollar denominated note issue being the third and final stage of its refinancing of the A$2.7 billion bridge facility put in place to fund the acquisition of Southcorp Limited (Southcorp).
The notes will be issued pursuant to Rule 144A under the US Securities Act in two tranches:
The securities were issued by Foster's wholly owned subsidiary, FBG Finance Limited, and are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Foster's. Foster's is rated Baa2 by Moody's and BBB- by Standard & Poor's with a stable outlook by both agencies.
The US$1.0 billion bond issue combined with the £525 million and US$300 million Syndicated Multi-Currency Revolving Facilities announced over the past week completes Foster's permanent refinancing of the acquisition of Southcorp.
Pete Scott, Chief Financial Officer, said "Foster's is very pleased to have completed the permanent refinancing of the acquisition of Southcorp within three weeks of closing the takeover offer on 3 June. We have effectively 100% debt financed the transaction as planned and structured the refinancing to spread the maturities over 1 to 30 years and achieved the foreign currency mix required to match the cash flows acquired. We are now focused entirely on integration."
This announcement does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in Australia, the United States, or any other jurisdiction. Any securities described in this announcement may not be offered or sold in the United Statesabsent registration under the U.S. Securities Act.
Further information:
Media
Lisa Keenan
Director - External Communications
Tel: +61 3 9633 2265
Mob: 0409 150 771
Investors
Chris Knorr
Vice President - Investor Relations
Tel: +61 3 9633 2685
Mob: 0417 033 623
