CBRE Investment Management closes second green Eurobond

CBRE Investment Management, on behalf of a fund it sponsors, has issued its second green bond in the euro market. The new €500 million senior unsecured green bond has a tenor of eight years, at an all-in coupon of 0.9% and is rated BBB+ by S&P.

This bond follows CBRE Investment Management’s inaugural issuance in January 2021, which raised €500 million and marked the first ever issuance directly from a SICAV Structure in the investment grade corporate bond market, as well as the first issuance executed directly from a fund-level entity.

The transaction generated a significantly over-subscribed orderbook which was in excess of €1.25 billion from a diversified pool of investors across Europe, the Middle East and Asia, including a substantial percentage of dedicated green-bond or ESG-driven investors.

“To achieve our collective global climate goals, it is essential to unlock the trillions in private finance that are needed to transition towards a net zero economy. We are pleased to have the opportunity to support the mobilisation of green finance in the form of our second green bond,” stated Helen Gurfel, Head of Global Sustainability and Innovation for CBRE Investment Management.

To help achieve the ambitious ESG goals of the Fund and CBRE Investment Management’s Sustainability Vision, the fund established a Green Finance Framework which is aligned with the International Capital Markets Association’s Green Bond Principles, Loan Market Association’s Green Loan Principles and reflects requirements from the EU Taxonomy Regulation and Climate Delegated Act. An amount equal to the net proceeds of the notes issue will be used to finance and/or refinance, in whole or in part, new or existing eligible green assets in accordance with the Fund’s Green Finance Framework. The Green Finance Framework has been assessed and approved for accuracy and integrity by Sustainalytics, acting as SPO (Second Party Opinion) provider.

Duco Mook, Head of Treasury & Debt Financing, CBRE Investment Management, commented: “Following our first oversubscribed issuance earlier this year, there continues to be a strong preference from investors for green bonds – reflected in a lower bps margin compared to conventional bonds. CBRE Investment Management’s strong track record and strategy in ESG, combined with the Fund’s credit rating, means we are well positioned to take advantage of this as we issue our second bond in this space.”

Goldman Sachs acted as global coordinator for CBRE Investment Management, as well as joint bookrunner alongside ING Bank and ABN AMRO Bank. ING acted as Green Structuring Advisor.

About CBRE Investment Management
CBRE Investment Management is a leading global real assets investment management firm with $129.1 billion in AUM* as of June 30, 2021, operating in more than 30 offices and 20 countries around the world. Through its investor-operator culture, the firm seeks to deliver sustainable investment solutions across real assets categories, geographies, risk profiles and execution formats so that its clients, people and communities thrive.

CBRE Investment Management is an independently operated affiliate of CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE), the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2020 revenue). CBRE has more than 100,000 employees serving clients in more than 100 countries. CBRE Investment Management harnesses CBRE’s data and market insights, investment sourcing and other resources for the benefit of its clients. For more information, please visit www.cbreim.com.

*AUM refers to the assets under management, fair market value of real assets-related investments with respect to which CBRE Investment Management provides, on a global basis, oversight, investment management services and other advice and which generally consist of investments in real assets; equity in funds and joint ventures; securities portfolios; operating companies and real assets-related loans. This AUM is intended principally to reflect the extent of CBRE Investment Management’s presence in the global real assets market, and its calculation of AUM may differ from the calculations of other asset managers and from its calculation of regulatory assets under management for purposes of certain regulatory filings.