ANGEL TRAINS ANNOUNCES BOND ISSUE
14 July 2010
Angel Trains Group, through its subsidiary The Great Rolling Stock Company Limited, has issued £800m of bonds as part of its long-term debt refinancing programme.
This issuance includes a £300m 10-year ‘bullet’ bond and a £500m 25-year amortising bond with a 14-year weighted average life.
The proceeds from the issuance will be used to refinance a tranche of the existing bank debt maturing in June 2011 and give Angel Trains Group a stable long-term financial base. The bank debt was put in place when a consortium of infrastructure investors and managed pension funds bought Angel Trains from The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in August 2008.
Goldman Sachs International acted as sole financial advisor on the debt refinancing and the transaction was executed by RBS (acting as Programme Arranger), Lloyds TSB Bank plc and Goldman Sachs International acting as joint bookrunners and joint lead managers.
George Lynn, chief financial officer of Angel Trains, said: “We are delighted to be able to issue two successful benchmark-sized bonds, particularly given recent volatile corporate market conditions.
“The issue is a key part of our long-term debt refinancing programme and strengthens the company by diversifying our sources of finance and our debt maturity profile.
Malcolm Brown, chief executive officer of Angel Trains, added: “This gives Angel Trains a strong platform from which to play an active role in the rail industry in what is bound to be a tough period. “
For further information:
Angel Trains: Jenny Wilkinson/Phil Reed, Brass PR, 0113 220 0661
j.wilkinson@brassagency.com/p.reed@brassagency.com
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO BUY OR A SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO SELL NOTES IN THE INVITATION WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED FROM NOTEHOLDERS IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH OFFER OR SOLICITATION IS UNLAWFUL.
The distribution of this announcement is restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. Persons into whose possession this announcement and comes are required to inform themselves of and to observe any of these restrictions. This announcement may not be used in connection with, an offer to buy Notes or a solicitation to sell Notes by anyone in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or solicitation is not authorised or in which the person making such an offer or solicitation is not qualified to do so or to any person to whom it is unlawful to make an offer None of the Company or the Dealer Managers accept any responsibility for any violation by any person of the restrictions applicable in any jurisdiction.
The securities mentioned herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act. There will be no public offer of the securities in the United States.