The debt offering was privately placed with institutional investors in the US Private Placement Market. Bank of America Merrill Lynch acted as sole placement agent for the Company. Proceeds will be used for repayment on short term debt and to finance ongoing capital expenditures. The process started in September and the FortisTCI team had to promote the Company and the Country to the high-quality institutional investment community. Prior to this, the Turks and Caicos Islands were not an approved investment jurisdiction for these blue chip institutional investors.
President and CEO Eddinton Powell said, “This is a historic achievement for the Company and the Country. Having achieved a BBB; Outlook Stable credit rating this year, we are pleased to be the first corporate entity in the Turks and Caicos Islands to secure financing in the US Private Placement Market. The electricity utility business is very capital intensive and the Company must have access to the international capital markets. Also, we would not have been able to achieve this without the full support and backing of our parent Company, Fortis Inc.”
The debt issuance was led by the Company’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Ruth Gardiner-Forbes and the Company’s Director of Financial Services, Archie Gaviola. Mr. Powell added “while this is an enterprise-wide achievement, I would like to recognize the salutatory work done by Ruth and Archie in bringing this to fruition. In addition, we recognize the cooperation of our local banking partners. Indeed, there were four law firms in the United States and the Turks and Caicos Islands working concurrently on this debt issuance which speaks to the complexity of the exercise.”
The Notes will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 (The “Securities Act”) as amended, nor will they be registered under any state securities laws. Unless so registered, the Notes may not be sold except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws.
FortisTCI is the sole provider of electricity on the Islands of Providenciales, North Caicos, Middle Caicos, East Caicos and adjacent Cays, and South Caicos. TCU, a wholly owned subsidiary of FortisTCI, is the sole provider of electricity on the islands of Grand Turk and Salt Cay. Together the two companies serve over 13,000 electricity customers in the Turks & Caicos Islands.
Notes to Editors:
1) FortisTCI Limited (FTCI) became a wholly owned subsidiary of Fortis Inc. located in Newfoundland, Canada in August 2006. Turks and Caicos Utility Limited (TCU), which is the sole provider of electricity on the Islands of Grand Turk and Salt Cay, was acquired by FTCI in August 2012. FTCI is the sole provider of electricity in Providenciales, North Caicos, Middle Caicos, East Caicos and adjacent Cays, and South Caicos. Together the two companies serve approximately 13,000 electricity customers in the Turks & Caicos Islands. The Utilities have an aggregate diesel-fired generating capacity of approximately 75 megawatts. Additional information on FortisTCI can be accessed at www.fortistci.com.
2) Fortis Inc. is a leader in the North American electric and gas utility business, with total assets of more than $25 billion and fiscal 2013 revenue exceeding $4 billion. Its regulated utilities account for approximately 90% of total assets and serve more than 3 million customers across Canada and in the United States and the Caribbean. Fortis owns non-regulated hydroelectric generation assets in Canada, Belize and Upstate New York. The Corporation’s non-utility investment is comprised of hotels and commercial real estate in Canada.
CONTACT:
Allan Robinson
VP, Customer & Corporate Services
FortisTCI Ltd
Tel: 649-946-4313 Ext. 2507
Email: arobinson@fortistci.com
