Siemens Energy successfully placed its
first-ever Green Bond with a nominal value of EUR 1.5 billion today, an
important step in the company’s efforts toward integrating sustainability more
and more into every aspect of its business.
The Green Bond has two tranches: a EUR 750
million tranche at a fixed rate, with a maturity
of 3 years, with an annual coupon of 4%,
and a EUR 750 million tranche at a fixed rate with a maturity of 6 years, with
an annual coupon of 4.25%. The total order book across the
two tranches was approximately EUR 5.5 billion.
Proceeds from the Green Bond placement can
only be used for projects and activities that meet eligible Environmental,
Social and Governance (ESG) criteria. Siemens Energy will use the proceeds from
the bond to re-finance existing debt of Siemens Gamesa Renewable
Energy (SGRE), a key player in the wind-power business in which Siemens Energy
holds a 97.79% majority stake. Portions
of the net proceeds may also be used to refinance the acquisition of
outstanding shares of
Siemens Gamesa by Siemens Energy.
“ESG sits at the core
of our strategy, and this is also embedded in our financing actions. Driving
sustainability across our own portfolio and operations will drive profitable
growth,” said Maria Ferraro, CFO of Siemens Energy. “With the successful
issuance of our first bond, which meets our Green Bond Framework, I am very
pleased to see that the capital markets are confident in our strategy to become
the leader in the energy transition.”
The issuance is part of Siemens Energy’s
Green Bond Framework, established in January 2023 to allow the company to
further develop its sustainable finance vision. To verify that the framework
meets ESG criteria, an industry-standard practice is to commission an
independent review, also known as a second party opinion. For this purpose,
Siemens Energy obtained a second party opinion from the leading ESG ratings
agency, Sustainalytics, which confirmed that Siemens Energy’s Green Bond
framework is aligned with the International Capital Market Association’s (ICMA)
Green Bond Principles 2021.
A framework for
EU-labeled Green Bonds has been agreed to by the European Union for bonds that
meet the requirements of the EU taxonomy for sustainable activities. However,
this framework has yet to be formally approved by the EU Parliament and its
member states, and as such the label is still unavailable for currently issued
bonds.