The investment firm Aldar Properties successfully raised 1.064 billion dirhams (approximately 290 million dollars) through an additional issuance of its existing green bonds maturing in 2034 and 2035.
Demand for this issuance significantly exceeded supply, reaching 2.8 times the offered amount, with total requests totaling 830 million dollars.
The offering attracted significant interest from both regional and international investors, who made up 52% and 48% of the final allocation, respectively.
The first tranche of the additional green bonds maturing in 2034 was priced at a yield of 4.89%, representing a competitive spread of 87 basis points over the yield of U.S. Treasury bonds, while the second tranche maturing in 2035 had a yield of 4.95% with a similar spread of 87 basis points over the benchmark. With these issuances, Aldar achieved its lowest pricing margin ever on a public debt issuance, which is also the lowest spread achieved by any real estate company in the Middle East.
According to Faisal Faqnaz, Chief Financial and Sustainability Officer at Aldar Group: “The strong demand from a broad base of investors underscores the confidence in our strategy and our high investment-grade credit rating. By enhancing our financial liquidity in a way that considers market cyclicality, we aim to increase our flexibility to continue our growth trajectory while maintaining our ability to adapt through various economic cycles, reaffirming our strong commitment to our ambitious sustainability goals.”
The proceeds from this issuance will be utilized in line with Aldar’s green financing framework, which includes refinancing its assets certified under sustainability criteria. To date, Aldar has invested over 150 million dirhams in updating 69 of its properties by adopting new practices aimed at improving energy efficiency and reducing emissions, aligning with its ambitious goals of achieving net-zero emissions.
Participating in the transaction were Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, and First Abu Dhabi Bank, along with JPMorgan and Standard Chartered as joint lead managers and book runners. The issuance saw strong participation from international investors, including a significant order from Brevan Howard Abu Dhabi.
These issuances follow a series of successful financing rounds completed by Aldar to diversify its funding sources. As a result, Aldar currently has nearly 30 billion dirhams in available liquidity, providing a robust financial position to hedge against market fluctuations while maintaining a high degree of flexibility to support its long-term sustainable growth.