MONTRÉAL, Nov. 22, 2021 /CNW
Telbec/ - METRO INC. today announced the pricing of a private
placement offering of C$300 million
aggregate principal amount of 1.922% Series J Senior Unsecured
Notes due December 2, 2024 (the
"Series J Notes"). The Series J Notes will carry a coupon of 1.922%
and were priced at $1,000 per
$1,000 principal amount, for an
effective yield of 1.922% per annum if held to maturity. Metro
intends to use the proceeds of the offering for the repayment of
the Series C senior unsecured notes due December 1, 2021 and for general corporate
purposes. In conjunction with this offering, Metro entered into a
C$300 million interest rate swap
effectively locking in a floating rate of interest of 11 basis
points (0.11%) over the 3-month bankers' acceptance rate (CDOR)
over the life of the Series J Notes.
BMO Capital Markets, Scotia Capital Inc. and TD Securities Inc.
are acting as co-lead managers and co-bookrunners for the offering
and CIBC World Markets Inc., Desjardins Securities Inc., National
Bank Financial Inc., RBC Dominion Securities Inc. and Casgrain
& Company Limited are acting as co-managers for such
offering.
The Series J Notes will be direct unsecured obligations of Metro
and will rank pari passu with all other unsecured and
unsubordinated indebtedness of Metro.
The Series J Notes are being offered in Canada on a private placement basis in
reliance upon exemptions from the prospectus requirements under
applicable securities legislation and have been assigned
provisional ratings BBB, with a stable trend, by DBRS Limited, and
BBB by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services.
Closing of the offering is expected to take place on
November 30, 2021.
This press release 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 offering, solicitation or sale would be
unlawful.
The Series J Notes have not been and will not be registered
under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the
"U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be
offered, sold or delivered in the United
States of America or its territories or possessions or to
U.S. persons except in compliance with the registration
requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state
securities laws or pursuant to an exemption therefrom. The
information in this press release is not complete and may be
changed. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or
a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the Series J Notes in
the United States.
About METRO Inc.
With annual sales of $18 billion,
METRO Inc. is a food and pharmacy leader in Québec and Ontario. As a retailer, franchisor,
distributor, and manufacturer, the company operates or services a
network of some 950 food stores under several banners including
Metro, Metro Plus, Super C and Food Basics, as well as some 650
drugstores primarily under the Jean Coutu, Brunet, Metro Pharmacy
and Food Basics Pharmacy banners, providing employment to almost
90,000 people. For more details, visit corpo.metro.ca.
Forward–Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements which
reflect management's expectations related to expected future events
including, but not limited to, statements relating to the closing
of the proposed offering of Series J Notes and the intended use of
proceeds thereof. This forward-looking information typically
contains the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "intend",
"expect", "may", "will", "should", "potential", "plan", "project"
or other similar terms. These forward-looking statements are not
facts, but only reflections of management's estimates and
expectations. Although Metro believes that these statements are
based on information and assumptions which are current, reasonable
and complete, these statements are necessarily subject to a number
of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
from management's expectations as set forth in such forward-looking
statements for a variety of reasons, including market and general
economic conditions and the risks and uncertainties discussed in
the "Risk Factors" section in disclosure materials filed from time
to time with Canadian securities regulatory authorities. The
closing of the proposed offering of Series J Notes is subject to
customary closing conditions and there can be no assurance that the
proposed offering of Series J Notes will be completed or that the
terms of the proposed offering of Series J Notes will not be
modified.
The forward-looking statements included in this press release
are made only as of the date hereof and Metro does not undertake to
publicly update these forward-looking statements to reflect new
information, future events or otherwise. In light of these risks,
uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events contained
in these forward-looking statements may or may not occur. Metro
cannot assure that projected results or events will be
achieved.
SOURCE METRO INC.