Rating Release
Agusto & Co. hereby affirms the “Aaa” rating assigned to LFZC Funding SPV Plc’s ₦10.5 Billion Bond
The rating expires on 30 June 2023.
Agusto & Co. hereby affirms the “Aaa” rating assigned to LFZC Funding SPV Plc’s (“LFZ Funding SPV”, “the Issuer”, or “the Company”) ₦10.5 Billion 20-Year 13.25% Senior Guaranteed Fixed Rate Infrastructure Bond Due 2041 (“Series 1 Bond”, “the Bond” or “the Issue”) under the ₦50 Billion Bond Issuance Programme. The rating mirrors the “Aaa” rating of Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company Limited (“InfraCredit” or “the Guarantor”) and underscores the low default risk associated with the Series 1 Bond. This is based on the subsisting guarantee arrangement that allows InfraCredit to step in and continue to honour payment obligations to the Series 1 Bondholders should the Issuer and Lagos Free Zone Company (“LFZC”, “the Co-Obligor” or “the Sponsor”) fail to do so within the specified time. The Series 1 Bond was issued on 16 September 2021 at a coupon rate of 13.25% payable semi-annually over twenty years. The Bond principal will be redeemed bi-annually until its final maturity in 2041 following the expiration of a five-year moratorium. The net proceeds of the Series 1 Bond were utilised by the Co-Obligor to refinance interest-free shareholders’ advances, which were previously deployed to fund ongoing construction at the Lagos Free Zone (“the Zone”).
The opinions expressed in this rating release do not represent investment or other advice and should therefore not be construed as such. Visit www.agusto.com for further information.”