Fonterra bonds given ratings in line with parent company

Friday 8th July 2011

Ratings agency Standard and Poor’s has assigned a rating of A+ for the bonds issued by Fonterra’s Australian subsidiary in the wake of a $A300 million ($NZ388.3 million) issue of corporate bonds.

The bonds are for a five year term, maturing in July 2016, and were priced at a spread of 100 basis points over the Australian five-year swap rate.

Another agency, Fitch, has given the bonds an AA-minus rating.

Both ratings agencies ranked the bond in line with their respective ratings for Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd which guaranteed the issue.

The company has tagged the cash for refinancing bank debt in Australia.

The Australian bond issue followed Fonterra's sale of bonds on the Chinese currency bond market, raising 300 million yuan ($NZ56m) through an issue of RMB-denominated bonds.

NZPA

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