PostNL offers first Green Bond of €300 million
The Hague, the Netherlands, 16 September 2019 – Today, PostNL announced the successful offering of its first Green Bond. The company issued €300 million fixed rate Notes with a term of seven years, maturing on 23 September 2026. The transaction highlights the company’s commitment towards becoming a truly sustainable e-commerce logistics provider.
The net proceeds of the offering will be used to finance and/or refinance new and/or existing eligible green projects. This enables the company to contribute meaningfully to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals ‘Decent work and economic growth’ and ‘Climate action’. The eligible green projects focus on green kilometres, sustainable buildings and innovation and efficiency.
PostNL has published a Green Bond Framework to detail the quality of the projects to be financed through the issuance of the Green Bond. Sustainalytics, an independent provider of environmental, social and governance research and ratings, prepared a second-party opinion on the credentials and management of the Green Bond, which is available on postnl.nl/en/about-postnl/investors/shares-and-bonds/. The allocation of proceeds will be overseen by PostNL’s Green Bond Committee and will be reported annually.
The issuance is priced at 99.300% and carries an annual coupon of 0.625%. Settlement of the Notes is scheduled for 23 September 2019. Application has been made for the Notes to be listed on Euronext Amsterdam and a prospectus prepared in connection with the listing will become available on PostNL’s website. BofA Merrill Lynch acted as Green Bond Structuring advisor and BofA Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas and Commerzbank acted as joint active bookrunners.
The Notes are expected to be rated BBB by Standard & Poors Global Ratings.
Cautionary notice
This communication does not constitute an offer to purchase, or the solicitation of an offer to purchase, Notes and is not for release, publication or distribution, in whole or in part, in or into or from US, United Kingdom or any other jurisdiction where to do so would constitute a violation of the relevant laws or regulations of such jurisdiction.
The bonds have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “US Securities Act”) and will also not be registered with any authority competent with respect to securities in any state or other jurisdiction of the United States of America. The notes may not be offered or sold in the United States of America without either registration of the securities or an exemption from registration under the US Securities Act being applicable.
About PostNL
We are PostNL, here for everyone, bringing it all together for 225 years. With an extensive network of nearly 5,800 PostNL points, 11,000 letterboxes, and over 900 automated, also open to various carriers, along with millions of users of the PostNL app, we're always close by. We aim to be everyone's favourite deliverer by making it as easy as possible to send and receive parcels and mail. With nearly 34,000 colleagues working with us, we are part of society. We offer a range of services, including mail and parcel delivery, logistic e-commerce solutions, and cross-border solutions. On an average weekday in the Benelux, we deliver 1.1 million parcels and 6.9 million letters. We are commitment to customer satisfaction, providing opportunities for our employees, and generating value for our stakeholders through growth, digitalisation, and sustainability.
We optimise and support our physical networks through the use of smart digital solutions and introduce new propositions that add value for our customers. And aim for sustainable employment relationships by being a good employer to all people working with and for us. We focus on sustainability, making many journeys on foot and by bicycle, increasingly using cleaner fuels and electric vehicles, and offering innovative city logistics. PostNL N.V. is a publicly traded company with a turnover of €3.2 billion in 2023, 62% of which e-commerce related.