Knorr-Bremse Issues First Green Bond
- Knorr-Bremse AG issues a dual-tranche bond with maturities of five and eight years with a total volume of 1,100 million Euro
- Knorr-Bremse’s 8-year inaugural Green Bond will allocate 500 million Euro proceeds to eligible green projects
- Proceeds from the 5-year 600 million Euro Bond will be used for general corporate purposes including the partial refinancing of the Bond maturity in 2025
- The transaction was met with strong interest from investors and was significantly oversubscribed
Yesterday, Knorr-Bremse AG issued a dual-tranche bond amounting to 1,100 million Euro. The transaction included Knorr-Bremse’s inaugural Green Bond. The company is thus continuing to grow its focus on sustainability into its capital market financing.
Frank Markus Weber, Chief Financial Officer of Knorr-Bremse AG: “Our dual-tranche Bond issuance, including Knorr-Bremse’s first Green Bond, is a complete success. It is an indication that we are on the right track. Using the funds from the Green Bond, we will push ahead with our sustainability plans and strengthen our position as a trailblazer of sustainability and green mobility for our customers. The major interest of investors emphasizes the strong confidence in our strategy.”
The 8-year bond has a volume of 500 million Euro and the annual coupon amounts to 3.250 percent. The proceeds of this tranche are intended to be allocated to green eligible projects, as described in the Green Financing Framework, published on August 23, 2024. This includes projects across four eligible green categories: clean transportation, renewable energy, energy efficiency and green buildings. The framework was evaluated by Moody’s Investor Services (Moody’s) in form of a Second Party Opinion. Moody’s assigned an SQS2 Sustainability Quality Score (very good), which confirms that the framework is in line with ICMA Green Bond Principles and LMA Green Loan Principles and also that it demonstrates a significant contribution to sustainability.
The 5-year bond has a volume of 600 million Euro and the annual coupon amounts to 3.000 percent. The proceeds of this tranche are intended for general corporate purposes, including the partial financing of the acquisition of the conventional rail signaling business of Alstom Signaling North America. In addition, parts of the proceeds will be used for the refinancing of existing liabilities maturing in 2025.