“We were able to meet this deadline and achieve great value for Aucklanders due to a strong Aa3 credit rating from Moody’s and a competitive bank debt capital raising process involving leading local and international banks,” Sinclair said.
Watercare has established a $2.6b revolving credit facility and an $800 million standby facility.
It said $3.1b was jointly underwritten by Bank of New Zealand, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac NZ, with the remainder provided by Bank of China, Auckland Branch, via a bilateral tranche under the standby facility.
Sinclair said Watercare had received a strong response to its capital raising process and had managed to secure competitive funding over the next two years.
He said Watercare would be spending about $21m less on interest than it had budgeted for over that time.
Watercare had also agreed on terms for paying back the $4b it owes to Auckland Council over the next five years.
The entity will now be financially independent and have the capacity to deliver key wastewater and drinking water projects for the Auckland region.
Mayor Wayne Brown said Watercare’s fiscal plan would improve the council’s overall financial position.
Sinclair said the exercise meant Watercare could progress towards delivering on the $13.8b worth of infrastructure investment outlined in its 10-year business plan.
The plan covers more than 1000 projects aimed at ensuring reliable water and wastewater services all over Auckland and supporting population growth.
Jamie Gray is an Auckland-based journalist, covering the financial markets, the primary sector and energy. He joined the Herald in 2011.
