Generali announced a buyback offer for three Series of Notes with first call dates in 2022, targeting the purchase of up to an aggregate principal amount of notes expected to correspond to the aggregate principal amount of new Tier 2 subordinated notes to be issued by Generali.

The aggregate principal amount of the new bond - which shall be in "green" format, the second green bond of the Group - shall not exceed EUR600,000,000.

The buyback is in line with Generali's proactive approach to managing its debt and aims at efficiently refinancing its subordinated notes with first call dates falling between February 2022 and December 2022. Priority will be given to tenders by holders of the Series of Notes with first call date in December 2022.

This buyback and the new issue will enable the Group to achieve further savings in interest expenses for its financial indebtedness, and follows a similar liability management exercise launched by Generali on the same Notes in September 2019, upon the completion of which Generali repurchased an aggregate principal amount of EUR1 billion of Notes of the three Series and issued its first green bond having an aggregate principal amount equal to EUR750 million.

Cristiano Borean, CFO of Generali Group, commented:

"The transaction aims to achieve a more balanced maturity profile and reduce interest costs in future years. The issuance of the Group's second green bond represents another important step in fulfilling the Group's sustainability commitments."

The new Tier 2 notes, with a maturity of 2031, will be a Green bond issued under Generali's Euro Medium Term Note Programme and offered, subject to market conditions, to qualified investors. This bond issue will be in line with Generali's "Green Bond Framework" established by the Group in May 2019, which received a Second Party Opinion by Sustainalytics.

Generali's sustainability commitments have been recognised by the recent inclusion of the Generali Group amongst the Corporate Knights' "2020 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations" and in the Dow Jones Sustainability Europe Index, following the Group's noted presence in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. Generali is furthermore a member of the United Nations-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, the group of 18 pension funds and insurers committed to decarbonize their portfolios.

Source: generali.com