LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) announced today that its financial guarantor subsidiaries Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp. (AGM) and Assured Guaranty (Europe) plc (AGE and, together with AGM, Assured Guaranty)* have entered into an exclusive Co-Operation Agreement with independent arranger and advisor DTW Capital Solutions (DTW), based in Sydney, Australia.
DTW will act as exclusive origination consultant to Assured Guaranty for the provision of Assured Guaranty financial guarantees in relation to infrastructure finance and structured finance transactions having underlying assets or collateral located in Australia or New Zealand. In this role, DTW will facilitate the introduction of prospective issuers to Assured Guaranty and other market participants undertaking transactions where financial guarantees could be beneficial.
Assured Guaranty and DTW collaborated in 2018 on a wrapped A$100 million bond issuance for the Port of Brisbane. This transaction marked Assured Guaranty’s re-entry into the Australasian market, where it had been active until the global financial crisis of 2008.
“Having built a strong working relationship with DTW, we know they have a deep understanding of our financial guarantee product and how it can provide greater security for bond issues, and so may provide greater marketability and market liquidity,” said Nick Proud, Senior Managing Director of AGE’s international operations. “Through this Co-Operation Agreement, we believe we can expand the use of Assured Guaranty credit enhancement to a wide variety of transactions in Australia and New Zealand. Having a partner with recognized business success operating in the same time zone as potential clients should facilitate transactions and open more opportunities for Assured Guaranty.”
Chris Weeks, Principal of DTW said, “We believe Assured Guaranty’s financial strength, underwriting acumen and global market experience, including in Australia, make its financial guarantee product extremely attractive to both issuers and investors in the public infrastructure, public-private partnership and structured finance markets. There is a significant need for long-term financing in our region.”
DTW delivers tailored financing solutions to its clients focused on the Australasian borrower market in the infrastructure, commercial real estate, higher education and selected sectors of the consumer finance and corporate markets. It has a specific focus on raising private sector debt capital from such financial institutions as investment funds, pension plans, insurance companies and banks.
* AGE (registered in England, company number 2510099) is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority. AGE provides its financial guarantee together with a co-guarantee from its affiliate Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp. (AGM).
Through its subsidiaries, Assured Guaranty Ltd. (AGL) is the leading provider of financial guarantees for principal and interest payments due on municipal, public infrastructure and structured financings. Its subsidiary AGM guarantees international infrastructure and U.S. municipal bonds. AGE, a subsidiary of AGM, is AGL’s European operating platform. AGL is a publicly traded (NYSE: AGO), Bermuda-based holding company. More information on AGL and its subsidiaries can be found at AssuredGuaranty.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:
Any forward-looking statements made in this press release reflect AGL’s current views with respect to future events and are made pursuant to the safe harbour provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in these statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those resulting from AGL and its subsidiaries’ inability to execute their strategies; the demand for their financial guarantees; further actions that the rating agencies may take with respect to their financial strength ratings; adverse developments in their guaranteed portfolio; and other risks and uncertainties that have not been identified at this time, management’s response to these factors, and other risk factors identified in AGL’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are made as of 2 July 2019. Assured Guaranty undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
