Utilicorp Issues $125 Million Of FRN’s

Utilicorp Issues $125 Million Of FRN’s In The New Zealand Market

Auckland, 12 April; Deutsche Bank AG New Zealand announced today that it has arranged NZ$125 million of Floating Rate Note Issues for UtiliCorp Finance NZ Company. NZ$100 million of the notes are for 1 year and $25 million of the notes are for 6 months. The 1 year notes carry a coupon that will be set at 57 basis points over bank bill each quarter. Settlement takes place on the 12th April 2002 and the proceeds will be used to repay maturing FRN’s. Deutsche Bank was Lead Manager of the issue with Bank of New Zealand as Co-Manager.

UtiliCorp Finance NZ Company is wholly owned and guaranteed by Aquila Inc, USA. Aquila Inc is rated BBB with stable outlook and the notes carry a short term rating of A2 from Standard and Poor’s.

FRN’s continue to be a popular asset type with institutional investors. The pricing of this issue has needed to be increased from previous issues due to the more difficult conditions in global credit markets and the maturities were arranged to match investor demand. This name continues to be well supported in the New Zealand market as the company has continued to generate strong and stable earnings and has improved its financial profile with significant equity raisings in the last 12 months.

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