Great River Energy completes $400 million bond issuance
New debt will fund capital projects and facility upgradesMaple Grove, Minn. – On May 1, Great River Energy closed on an issuance of $400 million in first mortgage bonds, series 2008A, due 2038. The new debt will be used to pay down the balance on its credit facility, co-lead by National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corp. and JPMorgan, for capital projects and other general purposes.
Capital projects include the development and construction of the 99-megawatt Spiritwood Station near Jamestown, N.D., and a peaking facility in Elk River, Minn., as well as transmission additions and upgrades to existing facilities.
The 2008A transaction was co-lead by Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, with whom Great River Energy has had long relationships. “We are pleased with our ability to access the capital markets in these challenging times, and our ability to fund our requirements,” said Larry Schmid, Great River Energy CFO. “We have a number of projects on the drawing board and anticipate returning to the capital markets in the 12 to 18 month timeframe.”
This was Great River Energy’s second issuance of capital markets debt, following its $1.3 billion issuance in July 2007, which was primarily used to repay debt from the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and RUS-guaranteed loans provided by the Federal Financing Bank.
About Great River EnergyGreat River Energy (www.greatriverenergy.com) provides wholesale electricity to more than 1.7 million people via 28 distribution cooperatives in Minnesota and Wisconsin. With more than $2 billion in assets, Great River Energy is the second largest utility in the state, based on generating capacity, and the fifth largest generation and transmission (G&T) cooperative in the United States. Great River Energy’s member cooperatives range from those in the outer-ring suburbs of the Twin Cities to the Arrowhead region of Minnesota to the farmland of southwestern Minnesota. Great River Energy’s largest distribution cooperative serves more than 120,000 member-consumers; the smallest serves just over 2,400.
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