Private Placement of US Dollar Debt

RNS Number : 4015E

JPMorgan American IT PLC

27 February 2020

 

JPMORGAN AMERICAN INVESTMENT TRUST PLC

Private Placement of US Dollar Debt and Amendment to Short Term Loan Facilities

LEI: 549300QNAI4XRPEB4G65

The Board of JPMorgan American Investment Trust plc is pleased to announce that it has received funds from the sale of US$65 million fixed-rate 11 year unsecured notes (the "Notes") at a fixed annualised coupon of 2.55%.  The Notes, which mature on 27 February 2031 and pay interest semi-annually, are senior unsecured obligations of the Company, ranking pari-passu with its existing revolving credit facility.

The Company has issued the Notes to take advantage of current market conditions which it considers offer an attractive rate for long-term gearing. The Notes are unsecured and complement the Company's existing revolving credit facility, providing the Company a balance between long-term fixed and flexible variable cost borrowings.  

The Company has cancelled its £25 million revolving credit facility maturing in April 2020.  It has also exercised an option to extend the £40m floating rate revolving credit facility maturing in August 2022 by another £40 million, bringing the facility's size to £80 million.  This amount has been drawn in US dollars.

The current gearing of the Company is now provided by:

£80 million revolving credit facility maturing in August 2022; and
US$65 million private placement of secured notes due February 2031.

As previously announced and also detailed in the Company's financial statements, the Company has a strategic gearing level of 10%.  Following the receipt of the proceeds of the private placement, the Company's tactical gearing level will move to 10%, plus or minus 2% as these new funds are deployed. 

There has been no change in the Company's gearing policy, which is to operate within the range of 5% net cash to 20% geared in normal market conditions.

Commenting on the private placement, the Company's Chair, Dr Kevin Carter stated, "The ability to borrow money for investment is a key differentiating feature of investment trusts.  The long-term fixed rate borrowings negotiated by us offer an attractive source of debt for the Company at rates that we expect will look highly competitive over the term of the Notes."

Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited acted as sole placement agent for the transaction.

27 February 2020

Enquiries:

Richard Plaskett   JPMorgan Funds Limited 020 7742 3422
Priyanka Vijay Anand 020 3493 1504

Richard Atkins   Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited  020 7663 3200

Disclaimer

The Notes have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Act") and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Act.  This notice is for information only, does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale of any securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

 

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