Altech Batteries Ltd Stock Market Press Releases and Company Profile
Listed Green Bonds at Final Preparation Stage
Listed Green Bonds at Final Preparation Stage

Perth, July 28, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Altech Chemicals Limited (googlechartASX:ATC) (googlechartA3Y:FRA) is pleased to advise that preparations for its proposed listed green bond offering of ~US$144 million, to provide additional financing for its Malaysian high purity alumina (HPA) project, are in the final stages.

Altech has been working with London based structuring agent, Bedford Row Capital PLC (Bedford Row) and Bluemount Capital (WA) Pty Ltd (Bluemount) to prepare for the green bond offering. Extensive due diligence has been completed, including financial, legal and environmental social governance. Legal counsels from various jurisdictions have now completed their respective reviews of documentation, and the bond issue process will shortly move from the preparation phase to marketing and finally initiation.

The initiation phase of the offering will include the distribution of comprehensive corporate presentation packs and will be followed by detailed briefings to potential subscribers. As is customary with these types of offerings, it is anticipated that subscriptions for the bonds will be received in several tranches over a period of months, rather than as a single tranche and closing for the entire US$144 million offering amount. Bedford Row has reported that its initial preliminary marketing ("soft sounding") during the preparation phase had been positive.

Altech is aiming to raise US$144m from this bond issue (Series 2021-F3 Notes), of which US$100m will be used as secondary debt for construction of its Johor HPA plant, with the balance of US$44m to service bond coupon (interest) during the HPA plant's construction phase - see Figure 1*. The bonds will be issued by Sustainable Capital PLC, incorporated in United Kingdom, a dedicated green bond issuance platform (www.sustainablecapitalplc.com). The bonds will be second lien to the senior project finance of US$190m that has already been committed by German government owned KfW IPEX-Bank.

Background

Increasingly green bonds are being used to finance new and existing projects which deliver environmental benefits and a more sustainable economy. As announced on 20 May 2020, Altech's HPA project has been formally assessed as "green" by the independent Centre of International Climate and Environmental Research (CICERO) based in Oslo, Norway. Compared to conventional HPA processing, Altech's disruptive HPA production technology is estimated to deliver a ~49% reduction in the comparable carbon footprint, and use ~41% less energy. Also, the primary end-use for Altech's HPA is targeted for climate change products, such as LEDs lights and lithium-ion batteries.

As illustrated in Figure 1 in link below, Sustainable Capital PLC is the bond Issuer. From a US$144m issue, US$44m would be retained by the SPV to service bond coupon (interest) payments during the period of Altech's HPA plant's construction and commissioning. The US$100m balance of proceeds is lent by the SPV Co. to Altech's Malaysian subsidiary (Altech Chemicals Sdn. Bhd.) to part-fund plant construction costs and/or for working capital. It is envisaged that the bond will be for an initial 5-year term, and typical of this type of funding would likely be re-financed at a lower coupon (interest rate) towards the end of the term. Sustainable Capital PLC would take second lien security behind senior lender KfW IPEX-Bank.

*To view tables and figures, please visit:
https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/3GR76Y9D


About Altech Batteries Ltd

Altech Chemical Ltd ASX:ATCAltech Batteries Limited (ASX:ATC) (FRA:A3Y) is a specialty battery technology company that has a joint venture agreement with world leading German battery institute Fraunhofer IKTS ("Fraunhofer") to commercialise the revolutionary CERENERGY(R) Sodium Alumina Solid State (SAS) Battery. CERENERGY(R) batteries are the game-changing alternative to lithium-ion batteries. CERENERGY(R) batteries are fire and explosion-proof; have a life span of more than 15 years and operate in extreme cold and desert climates. The battery technology uses table salt and is lithium-free; cobalt-free; graphite-free; and copper-free, eliminating exposure to critical metal price rises and supply chain concerns. 

The joint venture is commercialising its CERENERGY(R) battery, with plans to construct a 100MWh production facility on Altech's land in Saxony, Germany. The facility intends to produce CERENERGY(R) battery modules to provide grid storage solutions to the market.

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Contact

Corporate
Iggy Tan
Managing Director
Altech Batteries Limited
Tel: +61-8-6168-1555
Email: info@altechgroup.com

Martin Stein
Chief Financial Officer
Altech Batteries Limited
Tel: +61-8-6168-1555
Email: info@altechgroup.com



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