Brookfield promises £900m backstop on CWG refi

Brookfield has agreed to provide a £900m backstop for Canary Wharf Group as the Docklands landlord seeks consent from bondholders to refinance upcoming maturities secured against its retail holdings. On Friday, CWG published a “solicitation of consents” announcement in which it asked holders of its €300m (£249m) of bonds due in 2026 and its £300m of bonds due in 2028 for approval to allow it to raise new debt secured against its retail portfolio. The group wants to refinance the 2026 notes plus £350m of bonds maturing in April. The 2028 notes will be rolled over “in due course”, said CWG. Canadian asset management giant Brookfield, which owns CWG with the Qatar Investment Authority,  has agreed to provide £900m in new equity to pay off the bonds if needed. QIA could also sign up to the commitment, at which point the co-owners of CWG would provide around £450m each. Ratings agency Moody’s welcomed the move, saying Brookfield’s backing “significantly reduced refinancing risk”. The agency added that it expected the new debt to be up to £610m and to be considerably more expensive than the bonds, which have interest rates of between 1.7% and 3.4%. Bondholders have until 4pm on 3 December to approve the plans.