Montréal, February 26, 2020 – METRO Inc. (“Metro”) today announced the closing of a private placement offering of C$400 million aggregate principal amount of 3.413% Series I fixed rate senior unsecured notes due February 28, 2050 (the “Notes”).
The Notes are being offered through an agency syndicate consisting of BMO Capital Markets, National Bank Financial Markets and RBC Capital Markets as co-lead managers and co-bookrunners, together with CIBC Capital Markets, Scotiabank, TD Securities, Desjardins Securities and MUFG Securities (Canada) as co-managers.
The Notes, which carry a coupon of 3.413%, were priced at $1,000 per $1,000 principal amount, for an effective yield of 3.413% per annum if held to maturity.
Metro intends to use the net proceeds of the offering of the Notes for the repayment of Metro’s Series E Notes at maturity as well as for general corporate purposes.
The Notes are direct unsecured obligations of Metro and rank pari passu with all other unsecured and unsubordinated indebtedness of Metro.
The Notes are being offered in Canada on a private placement basis in reliance upon exemptions from the prospectus requirements under applicable securities legislation and are rated BBB, with a stable trend, by DBRS Limited and BBB by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services.
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 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 Notes in the United States.
METRO Inc.
With annual sales of more than $16 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 and financial results and operating results. 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 Management” section of the 2019 Annual Report filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities.
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 or occur.
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METRO INC.
METRO
François Thibault, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
514-643-1003