PRESS STATEMENT
INEOS Group Holdings plc (“INEOS”) announced today that its indirect, wholly-owned finance subsidiary, INEOS Finance plc, has completed the pricing of its offering of Senior Secured Notes due 2015 (the “Notes”) in an aggregate principal amount of €740 million equivalent, with $570 million priced at 9.00% and €300 million priced at 9.25%.
The net proceeds of the offering will be used to refinance a portion of the outstanding senior indebtedness of the INEOS group, putting it in a stronger position as trading continues to strengthen and is the next step in the company’s plan to improve liquidity and reduce risk.
John Reece, CFO INEOS Capital said today: “The market is clearly encouraged by the recent performance reported by the company and its delivery ahead of its business plan. INEOS has weathered the current recession very well and has delivered a very strong start to 2010. In combination with our continued focus on cash management and liquidity we have significantly de-levered the Group, with net leverage currently reduced from 7.2x for end-year 2009 to 5.5x at the end of March 2010, with expectations that this will reduce further through Q2.”
INEOS’ Full year HC EBITDA for 2009 of €1,222m doubled from the previous year (FY, 2008 €594m). Based on management information, INEOS reported that Historical Cost EBITDA ("HC EBITDA") for the first quarter of 2010 was €494 million, double the figure reported for Q1 the previous year (Q1, 2009 €201 million). Net debt was approximately €7.1 billion at the end of March 2010. Cash balances at the end of the quarter were €745 million, after a scheduled payment of interest on the term loans of €145 million was made at the end of March 2010.
The notes were assigned a B2 positive rating from Moody’s and a B rating by Standard and Poor’s.
In its statement on 30th April, Standards and Poor's announced plans for a one-notch upgrade of the INEOS Corporate rating to B- from CCC+, expected upon successful completion of the re-financing.
Barclays Capital and JP Morgan acted as joint Global Coordinators and joint physical Book Running Managers and North Sea Partners advised INEOS in connection with the fund raising.
ENDS
Contact
For further information, please contact:
Richard Longden
Mob: +44 (0) 7710 371998
Cautionary Statement
This press release is for information purposes only and does not constitute a prospectus or any offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security in the United States of America or in any other jurisdiction. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States of America absent registration or an exemption from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The Notes will not be registered under the Securities Act. Any public offering of securities to be made in the United States will be made by means of a prospectus. Such prospectus will contain detailed information about the issuer making the offer and its management and financial statements. No public offering of the Notes will be made in the United States. This press release is being issued pursuant to and in accordance with Rule 135e under the Securities Act.
This communication is directed only at (i) persons who are outside the United Kingdom, (ii) persons who have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the “Order”) or (iii) high net worth entities, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as “relevant persons”). Any investment activity to which this communication relates will only be available to, and will only be engaged in with, relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release may include forward looking statements. These forward looking statements can be identified by the use of forward looking terminology, including the terms ‘‘believes,’’ ‘‘estimates,’’ ‘‘anticipates,’’ ‘‘expects,’’ ‘‘intends,’’ ‘‘may,’’ ‘‘will’’ or ‘‘should’’ or, in each case, their negative, or other variations or comparable terminology. These forward looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts and include statements regarding INEOS’s intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, INEOS’s results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and the industry in which it operates. By their nature, forward looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. Readers are cautioned that forward looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that INEOS’s actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and the development of the industry in which it operates may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward looking statements contained in this press release. In addition, even if INEOS’s results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and the development of the industry in which INEOS operates are consistent with the forward looking statements contained in this press release, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods.