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Chapman Tripp is pleased to have advised Chorus Limited (Chorus) on its debut offer of $170 million capital notes, marking a significant milestone in the New Zealand debt markets.
The capital notes have a 31-year term and are callable after approximately 6 years. The proceeds of the offer are being used to finance the repayment and redemption of Crown Funding Securities due 30 June 2025. The Crown Funding Securities were issued to partially finance the building of Chorus’ UFB network.
This is the first New Zealand corporate hybrid rated by both Moody’s and S&P and has been designed to align with international hybrids structures. The notes were issued on 6 June 2025 and have begun trading on NZX today.
The Chapman Tripp team, comprising Partner Luke Ford, Senior Associate Jessica Elder, and Solicitor Rupert Gates, with tax assistance from Partner Vivian Cheng and Senior Solicitor Harrison Cooper, provided comprehensive legal advice and support throughout the process.
"We are proud to have assisted Chorus in bringing this new funding format to New Zealand investors. This new product adds to Chorus’ already strong support of the debt markets, which includes NZX-listed senior bonds, Euro market notes, and Australian market notes. We hope to see more issuers following suit and returning to the market," said Luke Ford.
The New Zealand Guardian Trust Limited acts as supervisor and was advised by Simpson Grierson.
