Cassa Depositi e Prestiti it launched on Monday a 750 million euro social bond with a maturity of 8 years. The title is at a fixed rate, unsubordinated, unsecured and has a gross annual coupon of 1%. Demand has reached 4 billion euros, exceeding the offer by five times.
The issue, reserved for institutional investors, aims at support Italian companies that invest in research, development and innovation, as well as those hardest hit by the Covid-19 emergency. In particular, "the resources raised through this operation will be used to finance investments in the productive fabric that will contribute to the achievement of the sustainable development goals promoted by the United Nations", reads the group's note.
This is the fifth placement of this type for CDP, which in April had issued the “Covid-19 Social Response Bond”, whose funds were used to respond to the emergency triggered by the pandemic.
“With the issue of the new Social Bond – commented the managing director of the Cassa, Fabrizio Palermo – CDP confirms its commitment to supporting the country's sustainable growth through robust support to businesses in our area. We are convinced that the sustainable economy represents an important opportunity for growth for businesses and an unmissable opportunity to boost the country's restart following the Covid-19 pandemic. The strong demand recorded by institutional investors and above all by SRI (Socially Responsible Investors) confirms the trust placed in CDP by the market and the solidity of our sustainability strategy”.
The new bonds, which will be listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, have been purchased by over 180 investors, of which 76% are foreigners. The rating medium-long term of the securities will be equal to BBB (negative) for S&P, BBB- (stable) for Fitch and BBB+ (negative) for Scope. Barclays, Crédit Agricole CIB, HSBC, Intesa Sanpaolo, JP Morgan, Mediobanca and Unicredit acted as joint lead managers and joint bookrunners of the transaction.
