Copenhagen Airport achieves debt refinancing

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Copenhagen Airport achieves debt refinancing

Copenhagen Airports Denmark ApS has closed on a DKK5.3 billion multi currency refinancing for Copenhagen Airport, equivalent to US$970 million.

The refinancing features a combination of commercial bank debt and private placements in the US and Europe, in Danish Kroner, US Dollars and Euros. The refinancing comes in ahead of 2016 and 2018 maturities on €700 million (US$960 million) of debt.

Copenhagen Airport is currently the busiest airport in Scandinavia, serving over 24 million passengers last year.

Copenhagen Airports Denmark ApS (CAD) is jointly controlled by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board and Macquarie European Infrastructure Funds 3.

CAD owns 57.66% of Copenhagen Airports A/S (CPH), which is the listed company that owns and operates the only Danish airports in the Copenhagen region, namely Copenhagen airport and Roskilde airport. Of the remaining 42.4% of CPH, 39.2% is owned by the Kingdom of Denmark and 3.2% is free float on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange.

Moody's assigned a Baa3 rating to Copenhagen Airports Denmark ApS senior secured notes. Moody's said that the CAD/CPH ratings reflect as positives:
  • (i) the relatively strong business profile of Copenhagen airport, which is the largest airport in Denmark and acts as an important hub for air travel in the surrounding southern Scandinavian region;
  • (ii) a regulatory regime which gives some visibility on aeronautical charges until spring 2015 but where there is some uncertainty surrounding the potential outcome under a fallback scenario should a negotiated settlement not be reached; and
  • (iii) debt structural features which provide for the formal subordination of the Shareholder Loan at CAD.
However, Moody's says that the ratings are constrained by:
  • (i) the weak credit profile of the airport's main carrier, SAS, albeit subject to improved earnings and liquidity over the last 12 months; and
  • (ii) relatively high leverage on a consolidated CAD/CPH basis.

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