Kingspan raises $200m from debt issue

BUILDING materials group Kingspan has raised $200 million (€152 million) from a successful debt issue with American investors.

The debt will be repayable over periods between 10 and 12 years and attracts rates that the company described as “the tightest to date” achieved by an Irish corporate.

The company said the debt issue was “significantly oversubscribed” and brought a fresh group of investors to Kingspan. “The very positive response to the placement reflects the credit quality of Kingspan,” said the company’s finance director Dermot Mulvihill.

“The issue has introduced a new investor group and improved our capital structure by lengthening our debt maturity profile, all at very competitive interest rates.”

The company converted the money raised into euro as soon as the placing was complete.

It will use the funds to repay existing borrowings and to meet ongoing requirements.

The placement was arranged through Bank of Ireland’s corporate division. The bank also handled the foreign exchange transactions involved, but international investment banking giant Macquarie acted as agent in placing the debt in America.

Bank of Ireland corporate managing director Pat Gaynor said the American market was “very attractive” for Irish companies that wanted long-term funding.

“There is a strong demand for European credits, and Irish credits in particular, and tremendous capacity with around $40bn in annual issuance within the overall private placement market,” he said.