Spark Sustainability Bond 4.37% coupon maturing 29/09/2028

[Snoopy]

I am interested in finding out some more information about this bond:
https://investors.sparknz.co.nz/DownloadFile.axd?file=Announcements/NZX/20220323/367268.pdf

The announcement, dated 23-03-2022, says that a book-build was completed to institutional investors and $NZ100m of bonds were issued. But then when I go to the part of Spark Investor Centre website that deals with bonds.
https://investors.sparknz.co.nz/Investor-Centre/?page=Spark-Finance-Bonds

There is information on a 'sustainable finance framework'. But the sustainability bonds themselves are not mentioned, even though the other two existing New Zealand market bonds (SPF570 and SPF580) are listed with their specific term information sheet. The sustainability bonds look like they still exist (see AR2023 p119). But they aren't listed on the interest.co.nz bond database:
https://www.interest.co.nz/bonds-data/issues

I can't find a ticker for these sustainability bonds either. It is as though they have completely vanished from public scrutiny. Can anyone tell me what is going on with these things?

SNOOPY

[mcdongle]

It says completed to institutional investors so they may only be tradable between them and not publicly

[Snoopy]

It says completed to institutional investors so they may only be tradable between them and not publicly


Yes I guess that is one possibility. But why would institutional investors be lining up to join an unlisted bond syndicate, when all previous Spark NZ bonds were publicly tradeable? I mean, having a bond listed does not mean as a holder you *must" trade it on market. There are off market trades reported in bond markets as well as share markets.

Of course with this 'sustainability' bond there is the prospect of the interest rate being reset upwards in 2026, if Spark fails to meet certain company emissions targets. I don't think there is much prospect of that. Spark would not have created such a bond if their plan 'on paper' for winding down company emissions was a real stretch target. Nevertheless the market would have to price in such a contingency. Could the market be trusted to do that in a rational way that would not make trading in this bond unstable? Maybe there is some sense in letting 'the suits' run such a bond, and keeping the ignorant fickle public well away?

SNOOPY

[mcdongle]

Maybe it is cheaper for Spark to have lets say five owners of the bonds, Rather than maybe 5000 individuals buying and selling on the open market?? Unless they pay Computershare or whoever a fixed rate.
Other than that it is just how they decided to offer these particular Bonds to see how they work.