REITS ARE SEEING PLENTY OF “GREEN” IN BOND MARKET
Green bonds tie into growing emphasis on corporate sustainability and ESG mandates.
Beth Mattson-Teig | Dec 07, 2020
Kimco Realty Corp. kicked off its debut green bond issuance earlier this summer with a bang. When its $300 issuance for 10-year bonds hit the market in July, it attracted more than 100 investors who quickly oversubscribed the issuance six-fold with orders totaling roughly $1.8 billion. The final issuance completed at $500 million with a competitive coupon rate of 2.7 percent, which at that time was 210 basis points over Treasuries
The success of the issuance reflects a combination of factors, notably the tremendous investor appetite for green bonds—especially from investment grade companies. Kimco is BBB+ and Baa1 rated by S&P and Moody’s. “When we issued in July, we were probably the first green bonds to be issued since the pandemic started and spreads were starting to come in. So, there was a lot of pent up demand,” says Glenn G. Cohen, executive vice president, CFO and treasurer at Kimco….
