AUDAX RENOVABLES: GREEN BOND ISSUES FOR A VALUE OF €700 MILLION

Audax Renovables, a Spanish company whose activity is divided between the marketing of electricity and gas and the generation of renewable electricity 100%, has launched two programs of green bonds to obtain financing at competitive prices from the financial market. The aims of the operation are: to support the growth of the company both in the sector of energy production from renewable sources and in that of the marketing and sale of green energy and to finance possible new acquisitions at national and international level.

On July 3rd, Audax Renovables has issued bonds until 400 million euros on MARF, the Spanish Mercado Alternativo de Renta Fija. The program will allow the company to have the flexibility to make one or more issues, with any term and of any type, until the approved amount is reached.

For the first time, the Spanish company has made use of a financial instrument such as theEuro Commercial Paper Programme for a total of 300 million euros of value issued on the Dublin Stock Exchange. This is an international program, open to professional investors in Europe – including large international funds – within a very competitive and broad market that will allow the Group to broaden its investor base internationally. An operation that places Audax Renovables as the first independent energy company to enter this market.

To carry out this operation, Audax relied on the support of Banco Santader and Bred Banque Populaire as intermediaries.

With these two “green” bond issuance programs, Audax Renovables confirms its ability to be present in the different markets with the highest level of solvency and to be equipped to face future development and growth challenges. This is the case both when it operates on national and international financial markets and when it deals with the generation and marketing of renewable energy.

Last June, Audax Renovables approved its regulatory framework for the green financing in view of bond issues. A framework that, according to the judgment of Vigeo Eiris – a European rating agency specializing in social and environmental issues – satisfies the criteria established by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) and for which it has obtained the highest level of guarantee. For this reason, the bond program intended for the MARF was the first to be considered "green", also considering the fact that all the issues under this program meet the environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements requested by various international investors.

In April this year, Audax Renovables saw Rating confirmed in Investment Grade (BBB-), issued by the Spanish agency Axesor. An important result obtained despite the current situation, strongly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and thanks to the Contingency Plan developed to mitigate the possible negative impact on the business, to maintain the company's solid financial position, both in terms of liquidity and credit profile.