Rates Round Up

Asset Finance gets B rating; Meridian seeks as much as $200 million in bond offer; Fletcher Building rolls over 2010 capital notes.

Sunday, 31 January 2010

Asset Finance gets B rating
Whakatane-based Asset Finance, which was the first finance company to pull out of the government's retail deposit guarantee, has been handed a B rating for its short- and long-term debt by ratings agency Standard & Poor's.

Managing director Clive George said the rating was in line with the company's expectations, and represented its "relatively small size and capital base compared to other companies."

Meridian seeks as much as $200 million in bond offer
State-owned Meridian Energy is looking to secure up to $150 million in its Renewable Energy Bonds offer in two tranches, with the ability to accept up to $50 million worth of oversubscriptions. The five-year tranche will pay a 7.15% minimum interest rate, while the seven-year bond will pay a 7.55% yield.

The REBs are senior retail bonds, with BNZ and First NZ Capital acting as joint lead managers.

Fletcher Building rolls over 2010 capital notes
Fletcher Building will roll over its capital notes maturing in March and will buy-out investors wishing to convert the notes for shares.

The new bond will mature in May 2016, and pay 7.75%.

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