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DONG Energy Will Get Credit Positive DKK11 Billion Equity Injection
Last Wednesday, Denmark’s DONG Energy A/S (Baa1 stable) announced that three financial institutions
are poised to inject equity of DKK11 billion (€1.47 billion) into the utility before year-end. The injection is
credit positive because the capital increase will reduce year-end net debt and fund a significant proportion of
DONG Energy’s planned exploration & production and offshore wind investments, which would
otherwise have been funded by new debt.
The proposed deal is part of DONG Energy’s financial action plan, announced in February, which
included an injection of additional equity of at least DKK6-DKK8 billion. The equity injection is
conditional upon the parties reaching final agreement and theinvestors completing due diligence, as well as
shareholders’ and political and regulatory bodies’ approvals.
The equity increase will dilute the Government of Denmark’s (Aaa stable) current 80% ownership of
DONG Energy to about 60%. We do not expect this to lead to a significant deterioration in DONG
Energy’s government support given the government’s still sizeable stake and its generally noninterventionist attitude. The existing cross-party agreement requires the government to remain the majority
shareholder in DONG Energy.
DONG Energy’s net debt at June 2013 was DKK41.7 billion (€5.6 billion) and we expect it to decline to
about DKK30.0 billion (€4.0 billion) as a result of the equity injection. We expect that the equity injection
will positively affect DONG Energy’s credit metrics, and will ensure that the company’s metrics will remain
well within the rating guidance for its Baa1 rating for the full year to December 2013. Based on adjusted
first-half 2013 numbers, the equity injection will improve the company’s key credit metrics by about one
third, with funds from operations/net debt for the 12 months to first-half 2013 lifted to 20.2% from 14.9%,
as shown in the exhibit. However we expect year-end metrics to be considerably stronger, based on the
company’s performance so far in 2013.
We anticipate that DONG Energy will maintain its investment programme, and will not accelerate it as a
result of the equity injection. DONG forecasts its net capital expenditure at DKK30 billion (€4.0 billion)
for 2013-14: the equity injection should mean that DONG Energy will not have to raise additional debt
until the end of 2014.
The equity investors are Goldman Sachs (DKK8 billion, €1.05 billion), and Danish pension funds
Arbejdmarkedets Tillǽgspension (ATP - DKK2.2 billion, €295 million) and PFA Pension
Forsikringsaktieselskab (DKK800 million, €105 million). Goldman Sachs will own 19% of DONG Energy,
while ATP and PFA will own 5% and 2%, respectively. The investors will have the option to sell their
stakes through an IPO up until the release of DONG Energy’s 2017 financial statements, at which point
the stakes can be put back to the government.