Cobalt has advised AB SEB Banka on its role as arranging bank on the October 10th issuance of EUR 20 million Green bonds by Latvia's state-owned JSC Development Finance Institution Altum — the first such issuance by a national development institution in Central and Eastern Europe .
According to an Altum press release, "the Green bond is a climate-related fixed income instrument allowing investors with mainstream investment mandates to participate in climate financing, to raise awareness on climate related risks in addition to making a sound investment. The Green bond market has grown rapidly over the last decade with total, cumulative issuance exceeding USD 300 billion and the total number of individual Green bond issuers approaching 500."
In addition, according to Altum, the green bond issuance was "in the total value of EUR 20 million with a maturity date of 17 October 2024, a fixed annual interest rate (coupon) is 1.3%, [and] a yield of 1.367%. The deal was finally allocated to 24 investors from: Latvia (43.5%), Lithuania (31%), Estonia (19%), Sweden and Germany (6.5%). The bond issue was oversubscribed by 6.5 times by asset managers, pension funds, insurance companies and banks. The bonds will be listed on Nasdaq Riga." The proceeds from the bonds will be used to finance viable business projects supporting energy efficiency and use of renewable energy.
Legal assistance to AB SEB Bankas in the transaction was provided by Cobalt's banking and finance team led by Specialist Counsel Edgars Lodzins. Cobalt did not reply to an inquiry about counsel for Altum.
