TMCnet News

Assured Guaranty Wraps Notes Issuance for Places for People
[October 21, 2018]

Assured Guaranty Wraps Notes Issuance for Places for People


Assured Guaranty (Europe) plc (AGE)* announced that it has guaranteed principal and interest payments on £75 million of notes issued by Places for People Treasury Plc. The unsecured note issuance is to refinance existing facilities and for general corporate purposes.

The 20-year fixed-rate notes were issued on 17th October 2018 and took advantage of low long-term rates and were issued as a private placement to a group of South Korean investors, of which DB Life Insurance Co. Ltd was the largest single investor. As a result of the financial guarantee provided by AGE, the investors were able to benefit from AGE's AA by S&P Global Ratings.

Places for People is one of the largest placemaking and regeneration companies in the UK, with an underlying rating of A-/Baa1 from S&P and Moody's respectively. The Group owns or manages over 198,000 homes, operates over 120 leisure facilities and provides services to more than 500,000 people. It is committed to creating places that work for everyone.

Dominic Nathan, Managing Director, AGE, commented:

"This is a significant transaction for AGE in the UK social housing market, and our first new wrapped corporate issuance in this sector for a number of years. We are delighted to have marked our return by guaranteeing a debt issuance for one of the largest and most recognised housing associations in the market. We expect to replicate our success on this transaction with other housing associations that seek to take advantage of our long-term and cost-effective funding solution."

Nick Proud, Chief Executive, AGE, commented:

"The transaction provides evidence of AGE's ability to innovate and add value in new markets. We were delighted to have accessed the Asian investor market for this UK issuance and to provide value to these investors with our AA wrap. This ultimately opens up a new universe of potential investors for issuers in this market which historically has been financed by the banking industry and UK institutiona investors."



AGE guarantees timely payment of scheduled principal and interest to bondholders, throughout the life of the bonds, in accordance with the terms of its financial guarantee.

Assured Guaranty's legal advisers on the deal were Clifford Chance LLP and Pinsent Masons LLP provided legal advice to the investors.


Places for People was advised by Allen & Overy LLP.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

All of the securities having been sold, this announcement is for information purposes only.

This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities.

The securities described herein have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended ("Securities Act"), or with any securities regulatory authority of any state or jurisdiction of the United States, and may not be offered, sold or transferred, directly or indirectly, in the United States absent registration under the Securities Act or an available exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and the securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States.

*AGE (company number 2510099) is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. AGE provides its financial guarantee together with a co-guarantee from its affiliate Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp. (AGM).

Through its subsidiaries, Assured Guaranty Ltd. (AGL (News - Alert) and, together with its subsidiaries, Assured Guaranty) is the leading provider of financial guarantees for principal and interest payments due on municipal, public infrastructure and structured financings. Its subsidiary AGM guarantees international infrastructure and U.S. municipal bonds - and was previously named Financial Security Assurance Inc. (FSA) before becoming an Assured Guaranty company in July 2009. AGE, a subsidiary of AGM, is Assured Guaranty's European operating platform. AGL is a publicly traded (NYSE: AGO), Bermuda-based holding company. More information on AGL and its subsidiaries can be found at AssuredGuaranty.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:

Any forward-looking statements made in this press release reflect Assured Guaranty's current views with respect to future events and are made pursuant to the safe harbour provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in these statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those resulting from Assured Guaranty's inability to execute its strategies; the demand for Assured Guaranty's financial guarantees; further actions that the rating agencies may take with respect to Assured Guaranty's financial strength ratings; adverse developments in Assured Guaranty's guaranteed portfolio; and other risks and uncertainties that have not been identified at this time, management's response to these factors, and other risk factors identified in AGL's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are made as of October 22th, 2018. Assured Guaranty undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.


[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]