Tennent’s Lager owner C&C Group has boosted its finances with a £127 million fundraising deal in the US just a week after it warned over the impact of Covid-19 on its business.
The Irish drinks group said the deal – its first in the US private placement bond market - has diversified its sources of debt financing and extending its maturity out to 2032 on attractive terms.
Jonathan Solesbury, group chief financial officer, said he was particularly pleased to get the deal completed against the backdrop of the current market uncertainty.
“The issue extends the maturity of our debt as well as diversifying our capital structure. It gives the company access to a broader range of funding options in the future,” he said.
Analysts at Shore Capital said that C&C’s strong financial position and the fact that a sizeable proportion of sales are in off-licences and supermarkets rather than pubs and restaurants means it “appears well positioned to ride out the current Covid-19 storm”.
Last week C&C warned that Covid-19 will have a “material impact” on its performance given the closure of licensed premises in the UK and Ireland for the foreseeable future.
Lloyds Securities and NatWest Markets acted as joint placement agents on the financing deal with Rothschild & Co acting as financial advisor to C&C.
