Equinix Prices $1.85 Billion in Bonds, Including $1.35 Billion in Green Bonds to Drive Sustainability Initiatives
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Sept. 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX), the world's digital infrastructure company, today announced that it priced
Equinix intends to use most of the net proceeds from the offering to fund the redemption of all of its outstanding
In conjuction with the green bond offering, Equinix has developed a Green Finance Framework, based on the Green Bond Principles and Green Loan Principles, a set of guidelines that promote transparency and integrity in, and advance the standardization of, green debt disclosures. As outlined in the Framework, an amount equal to the net proceeds of the green bonds will be allocated to finance or refinance, in whole or in part, ongoing and new projects in categories such as green buildings, renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable water and wastewater management, waste management and clean transportation that are expected to deliver benefits to Equinix and its shareholders. The Framework is expected to further increase Equinix's focus on protecting the environment and addressing global climate change through greenhouse gas emissions reduction and drive corporate transparency and accountability. These investments are intended to benefit the communities in which Equinix operates, its employees and stakeholders, contributing to Equinix's mission to design, build and operate sustainable digital infrastructure.
Until an amount equal to the net proceeds from the green bonds has been fully allocated, Equinix will report annually through an allocation and impact report on the use of such funds and their environmental impacts. The report will be published on Equinix's Corporate Sustainability website. Sustainalytics, a leading global provider of ESG research, ratings and data, issued a second-party opinion on the environmental benefits of Equinix's Green Finance Framework as well as its alignment with the Green Bond Principles and Green Loan Principles.
For the offering of the bonds, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, ING Financial Markets LLC, RBC Capital Markets, LLC and TD Securities (USA) LLC served as joint book-running managers, BofA Securities, Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, MUFG Securities Americas Inc., SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Barclays Capital Inc., BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Mizuho Securities USA LLC and Scotia Capital (USA) Inc. served as bookrunners and PNC Capital Markets LLC, U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc. and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC served as co-managers. ING served as sole Green Bond Structuring Agent.
Highlights/Key Facts
Equinix is dedicated to protecting, connecting and powering a sustainable digital world. Equinix's green initiatives as outlined in its Green Finance Framework are environmentally responsible and will have the greatest societal benefits as outlined by the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals. Some examples of Equinix's commitments include:
- Sustainable Buildings – Building and maintaining healthy and sustainable office and data center settings to promote responsible consumption across its portfolio. In addition to targeting LEED Gold or other local equivalent green building standards on new construction, Equinix will deploy cutting-edge innovations in its data centers that benefit customers, such as artificial intelligence to identify new energy efficiencies and drive down its Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE). A design average annual PUE threshold of 1.45 or better has been set within the Green Finance Framework, which exceeds industry benchmarks.
- Renewable Energy – Reaching its long-term goal of using 100 percent clean and renewable energy across its global portfolio. In 2019, Equinix achieved 92 percent of this goal and has 225 MW of wind power under long-term contracts, as well as numerous supply contracts for renewable power around the world. Every megawatt-hour (MWh) of renewable energy procured reduces the carbon footprint of both Equinix and its customers, greening their digital supply chains.
- Energy Efficiency – Deploying best-in-class data center energy efficiency technologies and innovations for the reduction of energy consumption globally. Among other initiatives, Equinix's Center of Excellence for Energy Efficiency is driving a global approach to cooling its existing data centers more efficiently. The program engages customers to manage their implementations more sustainably at Equinix data center facilities, leading to overall improved efficiencies.
Quotes
- Keith Taylor, Chief Financial Officer, Equinix
"Issuing our inaugural green bonds demonstrates Equinix's continued long-term commitment to green our data center footprint, delivering wide-reaching environmental benefits for not only ourselves and our communities but also our global customers." - Chris Kimm, Senior Vice President of Americas IBX Operations, Equinix
"These green bonds will serve as a mechanism for Equinix to further invest in innovative designs and technologies that take action with regard to global climate change by meaningfully increasing our efficiency in resource consumption to ensure we continue to operate sustainably."
Additional Resources
- Green Finance Framework [website]
- Second-Party Opinion Report [PDF]
- Equinix Sustainability [website]
- Equinix FY19 Sustainability Report [PDF]
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase the bonds or any other securities and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. In addition, this press release is not an offer to purchase or a notice of redemption with regard to any outstanding notes or any other securities.
About Equinix
Equinix (Nasdaq: EQIX) is the world's digital infrastructure company, enabling digital leaders to harness a trusted platform to bring together and interconnect the foundational infrastructure that powers their success. Equinix enables today's businesses to access all the right places, partners and possibilities they need to accelerate advantage. With Equinix, they can scale with agility, speed the launch of digital services, deliver world-class experiences and multiply their value.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on Equinix's current expectations, including statements regarding the offering of the bonds, its sustainability objectives, the receipt and use of the net proceeds from the offering of the bonds and the consummation of any redemptions of outstanding notes. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including market conditions, customary closing conditions and other factors. In particular, there can be no assurance that Equinix will complete the offering of the bonds. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expected. More information about potential risk factors that could affect Equinix and its results is included in Equinix's filings with the SEC. Equinix does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release.
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SOURCE Equinix, Inc.
