Air Liquide has successfully launched its first green bond issue, by raising 500 million euros which will be dedicated to financing and refinancing the development of several sustainable projects, in particular in hydrogen, biogas and oxygen. This operation is in line with its first SRI-labeled bonds, which the Group had issued as early as 2012 to finance the expansion of its Home Healthcare business. This new bond issue will notably contribute to the financing of the ambitious sustainable projects the Group announced on March 23, 2021.
This transaction, significantly oversubscribed by investors, was executed under the Group’s Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN) programme. With this issuance, Air Liquide is raising €500 million with a 10-year maturity at a yield of 0.461%.
Proceeds from this issuance will allow Air Liquide to refinance its September 2021 bond maturities in advance and will secure sustainable financing to support the Group’s long term growth under very competitive conditions.
This issue will be rated « A- » by Standard & Poor’s and « A3 » by Moody’s.
Fabienne Lecorvaisier, Executive Vice President Finance and Operations Control, commented “The success of this inaugural green bond issuance illustrates the investors’ confidence in Air Liquide’s ability to implement projects that will contribute to building a sustainable future. It is in line with the ambitious sustainable projects we announced in March, particularly in terms of reducing CO2 emissions, and will allow us to materialize them. With the ambition to become a regular issuer of sustainable bonds, Air Liquide is more than ever committed to putting economic and financial performance and ESG at the heart of its growth strategy.”
