Italian insurer Generali has successfully concluded the placement of its sixth and seventh green bonds, two new Euro denominated senior bonds due respectively in January 2029 and in January 2034.
Following this transaction, the insurer has issued a total of eight bonds with environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) features, Generali Group CFO, Cristiano Borean, stated.
The bonds “green” format is in accordance with its Green, Social & Sustainability Bond Framework, and aligned with Generali’s commitment on sustainability matters, the insurer stated.
According to the announcement, an amount corresponding to the net proceeds of the 2029 Notes and the 2034 Notes will be used to finance/refinance “Eligible Green Projects”.
The Notes attracted an aggregate order book in excess of €2bn from more than 80 highly diversified international institutional investors throughout the book-building process.
This also included a significant representation of funds with Sustainable/SRI mandates.
The issuances have attracted strong interest from international investors, which accounted for over 80% and 90% of the allocated orders for the 2029 Notes and 2034 Notes respectively.
About 35% of the 2029 Notes has been allocated to Italian and French investors, 30% to Germany, followed by Iberia taking around 13%. Regarding the 2034 Notes, 30% has been allocated to UK investors, about 30% to Italian and French investors, followed by Germany representing around 22%.
“The successful placement of the two green bonds issued today is a further confirmation of Generali’s solid financial position and of our approach to sustainability,” Borean commented.
He added: “Green and Sustainable bonds are expected to represent around 40% of our total outstanding financial debt by the end of 2024. This result is fully in line with the objective of a cost efficient debt management, combined with a strong commitment to sustainability, outlined in the ‘Lifetime Partner 24: Driving Growth’ strategic plan”.
