Irish cardboard packaging group Smurfit Kappa has raised €1 billion (£858 million) in investment funds from a green bond.
In two tranches of €500 million, that mature in 2029 and 2033 respectively.
The funding, which meets the Green Finance Framework and ISS ESG Second Party Opinion, will be used to finance or refinance circular economy activities. These include:
(i) reclamation of used fibres;
(ii) recycling of used fibres;
(iii) paper milling; and
(iv) packaging conversion.
In addition, Eligible Green Projects include the environmentally sustainable management of living natural resources and land use, such as the procurement of responsibly-sourced raw materials (like wood, pulp, paper and recovered paper) and the utilisation of forests and raw materials certified in accordance with
(i) Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards;
(ii) Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI); and
(iii) Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).
Smurfit Kappa group treasurer Paul Regan said: “We were delighted with the interest in our dual tranche transaction, which generated order books in excess of €6 billion, demonstrating the strength and support for our business and the depth of liquidity available to the group.
“The level of interest also enabled us to raise €1 billion very efficiently across the two tranches and extend our weighted average debt maturity profile.
“We enjoyed meeting over 60 investors during our (virtual) roadshow and were delighted with the level of interest in Smurfit Kappa and also the response to our industry leading sustainability agenda and circular economy business model, in our first issuance as an Investment Grade Borrower for some time.”
