About the Issuer
Coffey International (Coffey) provides specialised
consulting services in geoservices, international
development and project management. Coffey was
founded by David Coffey in 1959 and is headquartered in
Sydney. It was first listed on the ASX in 1990 and at the
time of issuance had a market cap of $90m. Between 2003
and 2008 Coffey expanded to become a global operator
across six key geographical regions: Australia, the
Americas, UK, Middle East, New Zealand and Africa. The
company operates its business through three segments:
Geoservices, International Development and Project
Management.
The issuer need
Coffey had recently completed a three year transformation
and rebuilding process during which time it divested
non-core assets and reduced debt. Coffey established the
fundamentals of its business and weathered a cyclical
downturn to deliver considered, meaningful change. As a
result the company returned to profit in 2014 and was
seeking a capital management solution to support the
long term growth of its business.
The FIIG solution
By issuing a Senior Unsecured $40m bond into the capital
markets, Coffey was able to diversify its funding sources
and term out a portion of their debt profile. The 5 year
tenor provided an additional 2 years to the secured bank
facilities, reducing the businesses refinance risk while the
bespoke covenant structure allowed management to focus
on the growth strategy of the company.
Client testimonial
Group Financial Controller Marc Armstrong was impressed
at how smooth the process was from start to finish. “They
did exceptionally well in laying out the course that a bond
issue would take and walking us through it. They clearly
understood their space and were in control the whole way
through.” Marc said the bond issue had “perfectly” met the
company’s funding needs. “The team were highly
professional and were always two or three steps ahead
and could honestly answer any question we put in front of
them.”