CBRE Global Investors Closes First Bond Issuance in EMEA, Based on Green Credentials

LONDON, January 29, 2021 /3BL Media / – A fund sponsored by CBRE Global Investors has priced its inaugural Green Eurobond debt offering of senior unsecured notes raising €500 million. The issuance marks the first ever Issuance Direct from a SICAV Structure in the Investment Grade Corporate Bond Market, as well as the first issuance executed directly from a fund-level entity.

The Green bond has a maturity of seven years, a coupon of 0.5% and is rated BBB+ by S&P. The re-offer spread was set at €mid-swap plus 95 basis points, which represents the tightest spread to mid-swap in the EUR market compared to any precedent debt IPO in the real estate fund space.  

The order book reached more than €1.7 billion from over 100 orders and was oversubscribed by 3.4x. Over 93% of the deal was allocated to high quality European ‘buy and hold’ accounts with the majority of the bond allocated to asset managers and insurance companies.

To align with CBRE Global Investors’ ESG ambitions and that of the Fund, the bond has been structured as a Green Bond. The Fund will allocate 100% of the net proceeds from the issuance of each Green instrument (loan or bond or any other financing instrument) to green projects (“Eligible Green Projects”) satisfying one or more of the eligible indicators and performance requirements. The Green Bond framework has been assessed and approved for accuracy and integrity by Sustainalytics, acting as SPO (“Second Party Opinion”) provider.

Duco Mook, Head of Treasury & Debt Financing, CBRE Global Investors commented: “We are delighted to have achieved such an excellent outcome for our first bond issuance in Europe. The majority of the investors that we engaged with have placed orders, which is testament to the strength of the fund’s credit and market backdrop.

It was not surprising to see that our Green Finance Framework was of particular interest to investors. With an increasing demand for green loans from long-term investors, it was always a requirement for this issuance. This aligns with our ESG ambitions and net-zero targets both at a fund and corporate level.“

Goldman Sachs acted as Global Coordinator and sole Bookrunner to CBRE Global Investors.

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About CBRE Global Investors

CBRE Global Investors is a global real assets investment management firm with $114.5 billion in assets under management* as of September 30, 2020. The firm sponsors investment programs across the risk/return spectrum for investors worldwide.

CBRE Global Investors is an independently operated affiliate of CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE). It harnesses the research, investment sourcing and other resources of the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2019 revenue) for the benefit of its investors. CBRE Group, Inc. has more than 100,000 employees (excluding affiliates) and serves real estate investors and occupiers through more than 530 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. For more information about CBRE Global Investors, please visit www.cbreglobalinvestors.com

*Assets under management (AUM) refers to the fair market value of real assets-related investments with respect to which CBRE Global Investors provides, on a global basis, oversight, investment management services and other advice and which generally consist of investments in real assets; equity in funds and joint ventures; securities portfolios; operating companies and real assets-related loans. This AUM is intended principally to reflect the extent of CBRE Global Investors’ presence in the global real assets market, and its calculation of AUM may differ from the calculations of other asset managers.