Auckland Airport sets 4.74% rate on NZ$350 million retail bond offer
Auckland International Airport Limited has released the final terms sheet for NZ$350,000,000 of unsecured, unsubordinated fixed rate retail bonds due 17 November 2031. The Auckland Airport retail bond carries an interest rate of 4.74% per annum, set on the Rate Set Date of 6 November 2026.
The Joint Lead Managers are ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited, Bank of New Zealand and Forsyth Barr Capital Markets Limited. The expected Long-Term Issue Credit Rating is A- from S&P Global Ratings, while the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating is A- (stable).
Proceeds are for general corporate purposes. The offer is made in New Zealand in reliance on the exclusion in clause 19 of schedule 1 of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (FMCA).
How the 4.74% rate is built
The interest rate is the aggregate of the Base Rate and the Margin on the Rate Set Date. The Base Rate is the semi-annual mid-market swap rate for the period from the Issue Date to the Maturity Date, calculated with reference to Bloomberg page ICNZ2.
| Pricing component | Rate (per annum) |
|---|---|
| Base Rate | 3.99% |
| Margin | 0.75% |
| Interest Rate | 4.74% |
Interest is paid semi-annually in arrear on 17 November and 17 May each year until and including the Maturity Date. The first payment falls on 17 May 2027.
Key terms at a glance
- Issue price: NZ$1.00 per Retail Bond
- Minimum Principal Amount and minimum holding amount: NZ$10,000, then multiples of NZ$1,000
- Quotation: NZX Debt Market, ticker code AIA300
- Ranking: equally with all other outstanding unsecured and unsubordinated indebtedness of Auckland Airport (except indebtedness preferred by law)
- Governing law: New Zealand
- Repo-eligibility: Auckland Airport intends to apply to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand for the Retail Bonds to be included as eligible securities for domestic market operations
Bonds explained for new investors
A fixed rate bond pays the same interest rate for its whole term. Unsecured means no specific asset is pledged as backing, and unsubordinated means the bonds rank equally with the issuer’s other unsecured and unsubordinated debt, apart from debt preferred by law.
The pricing structure adds a margin to a swap rate, which is a market benchmark for fixed interest rates over a matching term. Here, the benchmark of 3.99% plus the 0.75% margin sets the rate at 4.74% for the life of the bonds.
Heavy demand, with orders above NZ$585 million at the later stage of bookbuilding, let the margin settle at the bottom of its earlier indicated range.
The Retail Bonds sit alongside six existing Quoted Bonds on the NZX Debt Market. Except for interest rate and maturity date, they carry identical rights, privileges, limitations and conditions, and are of the same class as the Quoted Bonds for the purposes of the FMCA and the Financial Markets Conduct Regulations 2014.
- AIA240: 3.29%, maturing 17 November 2026
- AIA250: 5.67%, maturing 9 May 2028
- AIA260: 5.29%, maturing 17 November 2028
- AIA270: 6.22%, maturing 2 November 2029
- AIA280: 5.45%, maturing 15 November 2030
- AIA290: 4.04%, maturing 8 April 2031
The terms sheet states that investors should look to the market price of the Quoted Bonds to find out how the market assesses the returns and risk premium for those bonds.
Who can apply and what happens next
All of the Retail Bonds are reserved for clients of the Joint Lead Managers, NZX participants, other approved financial intermediaries and institutional investors. There is no public pool for the offer, and any allotment is at Auckland Airport’s discretion, in consultation with the Joint Lead Managers.
How the allotment was ultimately scaled is covered in the final allocation announcement, which also confirmed that the planned wholesale floating rate tranche was dropped.
Investors may need a common shareholder number (CSN), an authorisation code (FIN) and an account with a primary market participant. Their broker or financial adviser can advise on these arrangements, costs and timeframes.
The offer opened on 4 November 2026, and the closing date is imminent. Key dates are:
- Closing Date and Rate Set Date: 10.30am, Friday, 6 November 2026
- Issue Date and allotment date: Tuesday, 17 November 2026
- Expected initial quotation and trading on the NZX Debt Market: Wednesday, 18 November 2026
- First Interest Payment Date: 17 May 2027
- Maturity Date: Monday, 17 November 2031
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