PRESS RELEASE : VERBUND AG: Austria's leading company in the energy transition creates a novelty in the bond market and issues the first EU taxonomy aligned 'Green and Sustainability-linked Bond'

DGAP-News: VERBUND AG / Key word(s): Issue of Debt 
VERBUND AG: Austria's leading company in the energy transition creates a novelty in the bond market and issues the 
first EU taxonomy aligned 'Green and Sustainability-linked Bond' 
2021-03-22 / 10:01 
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. 
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This communication constitutes neither an offer of securities for sale nor a solicitation of an offer to purchase 
securities. The final prospectus containing the terms and conditions relating to the notes, when published, will be 
available on the website of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (https://www.bourse.lu/). This communication is an 
advertisement for the purposes of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 and underlying legislation. It is not a prospectus. 
 
Austria's leading utility and international green finance pioneer VERBUND is planning to add another chapter to its 
successful sustainability story. The company intends to place a senior unsecured bond featuring a variety of 
sustainable characteristics. 
The bond represents an innovation on the sustainable capital market, as it combines a clearly defined environmentally 
sustainable ("green") use of proceeds with a coupon step-up that is linked to company-wide sustainability targets 
("sustainability-linked"). VERBUND intends to use the proceeds from the bond issue for the renewal and expansion of an 
existing hydropower plant, as well as for the expansion of its power grid in Austria. The Green Financing Framework of 
VERBUND, which has been developed in alignment with the Green Bond Principles 2018 and the Sustainability-Linked Bond 
Principles 2020, is in line with the most recent draft of the Delegated Acts of the EU Taxonomy Regulation, which was 
published in November 2020 and is the first classification system for green activities at European level. The coupon of 
the bond increases if the company fails to meet two predefined sustainability targets. These targets require, inter 
alia, a minimum of newly installed production capacity of renewable energy sources (water, wind, photovoltaics) of at 
least 2,000 MW, as well as a minimum of additional transformer capacities of at least 12,000 MVA in order to be able to 
feed in the renewable electricity into the high-voltage grid. Further details can be found in VERBUND's recently 
published "Green Financing Framework" as well as in the second party opinion conducted by ISS ESG (https:// 
www.verbund.com/en-at/about-verbund/investor-relations/financing/bonds). 
With its independent second party opinion, the internationally recognized sustainability rating agency ISS ESG 
confirmed the compliance of all projects with common practices, principles and standards in the bond market, as well as 
compliance with the environmentally sustainable criteria and thresholds defined in the EU taxonomy. 
Peter F. Kollmann, CFO, VERBUND AG: "With the envisaged VERBUND Green & Sustainability-Linked Bond, we continue to 
contribute to a green energy future with another innovative financing tool issued by VERBUND. After the first Green 
Bond issued by a company in German-speaking countries in 2014, the world's first Green and Digital Promissory Note as 
well as the first 100% ESG-linked Syndicated Loan in 2018, VERBUND is setting another milestone in the field of green 
finance with this financial instrument based on sustainability criteria." 
Contact 
Mag. Andreas Wollein 
Head of Group Finance and Investor Relations 
Tel.: [phone] 
Fax: [phone] 
[e-mail] 
 
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2021-03-22 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. 
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. 
The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. 
Archive at www.dgap.de 
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Language:     English 
Company:      VERBUND AG 
              Am Hof 6A 
              1010 Wien 
              Austria 
Phone:        [phone] 
Fax:          [phone] 
E-mail:       [e-mail] 
Internet:     www.verbund.com 
ISIN:         AT0000746409 
WKN:          877738 
Indices:      ATX 
Listed:       Foreign Exchange(s) Vienna Stock Exchange (Official Market) 
EQS News ID:  1177142 
 
End of News   DGAP News Service 
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1177142 2021-03-22

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 22, 2021 05:03 ET (09:03 GMT)