ESLA Plc will today close the issuance of its latest bond offer, of 12-year cedi denominated bonds, representing Tranche E4 under its GHc 10 billion bond programme.
This additional bond issuance seeks to raise GHc 260 million through this tranche, with a minimum and maximum issue size of GHc 100 million and GHc 1 billion respectively. The bonds will mature on December 15, 2031.
Initially the bond offer was expected to end on Monday, December 30, 2019. However, this was extended to Monday, January 13, 2020, with the approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission. The reason given for the extension was that the issuance coincided with the end of 2019 festivities season during which many potential investors customarily desist from actively engaging in taking major investment positions.
This bond issuance itself has been necessitated due to the enhancement of inflows into the ESLA, as a result of the increments in the energy debt recovery levy by the government announced during the 2019 mid-year budget review.
In view of this, ESLA Plc received approval from its bondholders holding a total of approximately 79.1 percent of the outstanding bonds to reduce the additional bonds debt service coverage ratio from 2x to 1.25x.
In 2017, ESLA Plc successfully issued the first E.S.L.A. Bonds, Tranche E1 and Tranche E2 maturing in 2024 and 2027 respectively, raising GHc 4.784 billion in total. An additional GHc 880 million of Tranche E2 was also raised in 2018. E.S.L.A. Plc has also issued Tranche E3, a GHc 1 billion issuance in 2019, which will mature in 2029.
The current outstanding issuance is GHc 6 billion, represents a total issuance of GHc 6.664 billion, out of which GHc 664 million was redeemed in a buyback transaction financed with funds from the Lock Box account.
The Bonds are backed by the Energy Debt Recovery (EDR) Levy imposed under the Energy Sector Levy Act.
The Tranche E4 Bond issuance will be listed on the Ghana Fixed Income Market (GFIM) once the offer is successful.