SSE's debut Kangaroo green bond raises about $708m

SSE sold about $708 million of Kangaroo green bonds — Australian-dollar securities placed by a foreign borrower — into demand roughly 2.5 times that size. The company calls the order book the third-largest ever for a senior Kangaroo corporate transaction.

SSE split the deal into two fixed-rate tranches. The five-year piece raised $425 million and pays 5.6%, maturing in August 2031. The ten-year piece raised $283 million at 6.3%, due August 2036. A sterling swap left the company with a weighted average cost of 5.7% and a blended maturity of seven years.

SSE has sold 12 green bonds since 2017 and now has about $8 billion of green debt outstanding. In the 2027 financial year alone it has raised $1.49 billion of hybrids at 4.6% and $2.57 billion of senior debt at 5.3%.

Australia's own government raised $7 billion with its inaugural sovereign green bond, and SSE's 2.5 times subscription suggests the buyer base has room. At a time of elevated global borrowing costs, a green label can get a foreign issuer a hearing from a wider set of investors.