BME’s fixed income market, AIAF, has registered Red Eléctrica de España’s (REE) Euro Commercial Paper Programme 2022, which had previously been admitted to trading outside Spain. Under this multicurrency Commercial Paper (CP) programme, the company will be able to issue up to €1 billion in CPs over the next 12 months with nominal per unit amounts of €500,000 or dollars and maturities ranging between 3 and 364 days.
Under the programme, Santander Corporate & Investment Banking acts as Arranger and Dealer and BBVA, Barclays, Bred Banque Populaire, Caixabank, CIC, Citigroup, Crédit Agricole CIB, ING and Natwest Markets as Dealers. The payment agent under the programme is Caixabank. Garrigues has provided legal advice to the issuer while Simmons & Simmons has acted as counsel to Santander as Arranger.
The company has a short-term credit rating of A-2 from Standard & Poor’s and F1 from Fitch.
Emilio Cerezo, CFO of Grupo Red Eléctrica, highlighted that “we are very happy about all the assistance we have received to join a market that is so strongly committed to attracting foreign investors to the domestic market.”
“This transaction is the result of BME’s continued efforts to improve its efficiency in attracting issues to the Spanish market. With close to 100 commercial paper programmes registered in BME’s AIAF and MARF fixed income markets, the admission to trading of Red Eléctrica’s programme reinforces us as a reference for these operations,” said Gonzalo Gómez Retuerto, general manager of BME Renta Fija.
Red Eléctrica de España is the sole operator and transporter of the Spanish electricity system. Founded in 1985, it guarantees the supply of electricity in Spain with high quality standards and carries out this mission under the principles of transparency, objectivity, independence, economic efficiency and a firm commitment to sustainable development. Grupo Red Eléctrica is listed on the Spanish Stock Exchange and is listed on the IBEX 35®.
Simmons & Simmons advised Santander as Arranger with a Banking & Finance team led by partner Alfredo de Lorenzo (specialised in Capital Markets), together with of counsel Ignacio González and Banking & Finance associate Jorge Puyol.
Garrigues advised the issuer with a Madrid office team including Corporate/Commercial partner José Luis Palao and principal Banking and Finance, Securities Market and Corporate/Commercial associate Li Jun Chen.
