Danish container shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk has added to its financial firepower with a second green bond.
The shipowner was linked by Bloomberg to a $750m green issue with a 10-year term.
The deal marks the group’s first-ever series denominated in US dollars.
The company later confirmed the deal to TradeWinds.
The coupon has been reported at 165 basis points above the US Treasury’s rate. This was after initial discussions of around 190 points, the report claimed.
Cash can be used to finance assets and projects that derive 90% or more of earnings from clean transport.
The transaction follows Maersk’s green bond debut in 2021 for €500m (then $564m) to help fund the construction of a series of carbon-neutral ships.
The 10-year issue was heavily oversubscribed, attracting €3.7bn in offers from potential investors. As a result, Maersk is paying an annual coupon of just 0.75% on the bonds, which trade publicly in Luxembourg.
This was its “lowest annual interest ever”, the shipping giant said.
The funds will go towards financing eight large container ships and a feeder vessel that will operate on carbon-neutral methanol.
Maersk confirmed in August of that year the placing of the pioneering order for the 16,000-teu newbuildings and four options at Hyundai Heavy Industries.
Maersk has announced a total capital expenditure of around $1.4bn for the eight vessels. The single feedership added only marginally to that.
Fearnley Securities said that at the end of the second quarter, Maersk was sitting on $22bn in cash and cash equivalents.
