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January 19, 2022

Successfully placed new Sustainability-Linked Bond for €400 million. Average corporate debt maturity extended to 3.7 years with more than 85% at fixed rate

PRESS RELEASES

MILAN, January 19, 2022 - Webuild S.p.A. (“Webuild” or the “Company”) announces the conditions of the unsecured fixed-rate senior sustainability-linked notes (the “Notes”), whose net proceeds will be used for the repayment of part of the existing indebtedness and for general corporate purposes of the Company.

The success of the placement of Webuild's sustainability-linked bond confirms the significant appreciation on the part of the international and national financial communities for the strategy that Webuild has pursued in recent years. It also represents a show of confidence in Italy and its ability to achieve NRRP (PNRR) goals for infrastructure”, said Massimo Ferrari, the Group’s General Manager.

The new bond issue for €400 million with a 2026 maturity comes after the Group’s extraordinary preliminary financial results for 2021, which saw a positive net financial position and a significant reduction in gross debt, notwithstanding the persistent uncertainties surrounding the global economy linked to the pandemic. This confirms that the right strategic decisions have been taken and recently implemented, including Progetto Italia (Project Italy) and a repositioning towards low-risk countries. We will continue to focus all our resources and energies on guaranteeing health and safety at workplace, the sustainability of infrastructure projects and the generation of cash for the benefit of all stakeholders. These conditions are fundamental in order to keep growing and help make the sector more stable along with the entire supply chain”.

The aggregate nominal amount of the Notes is equal to €400 million. The Notes maturity date is July 28, 2026 and the Notes annual coupon is 3.875%.

The issue, the first for the Company in the “Sustainability-Linked” market, demonstrates Webuild’s commitment to integrate fully sustainability its business, including its financial strategy. The new issue is linked to the achievement of the reduction by 50% of carbon intensity emissions (Scope 1 & 2) by 2025, contributing to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (“SDGs”) 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) and 13 (Climate Action), in line with Webuild’s Sustainability-Linked Financing Framework.

The issue of the Notes enables the Company to optimise the structure of its corporate debt, extending the average maturity to 3.7 years with more than 90% of having an expiry date from 2024. It will increase to more than 85% the part of corporate debt that has a fixed rate.

The issue received orders for more than €900 million, more than 2.2 times oversubscribed, with demand from national and international investors, especially from the United Kingdom, Germany and France.

The Notes are offered to qualified investors only, with exclusion of the United States and other selected countries, and will be listed on the Global Exchange Market of Euronext Dublin.

The issue of the Notes is expected to occur on January 28, 2022.

BofA Securities Europe SA, Goldman Sachs International, Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. – Divisione IMI Corporate & Investment Banking, Natixis and UniCredit Bank AG act as Joint Lead Managers, and Banca Akros S.p.A. – Gruppo Banco BPM, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. and BNP Paribas as Co-Managers.

 

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No action has been taken by the Company, the aforementioned banks or any of their respective affiliates that would permit an offering of the securities or possession or distribution of this press release or any publicity material relating to the securities in any jurisdiction where action for such purposes is required. Persons into whose possession this press release comes are required to inform themselves about and to observe any such restrictions.

This press release shall not be distributed, whether directly or indirectly, in the United States of America (as defined in Regulation S contained in the US Securities Act of 1933, as subsequently amended - “US Securities Act”) or in any other country where the offer or the sale would be forbidden by the law. This press release is not, and is not part of, an offer or sale of securities to the public or a solicitation to purchase or sell securities, and there will be no offer of securities or solicitation to sell or purchase securities in any jurisdiction where such offer or solicitation would be forbidden by the law. The securities mentioned in this press release have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act and may not be offered or sold in the United States of America without a registration or a specific exemption from registration under the US Securities Act. No offers of the securities to the public or solicitation to sell or purchase securities shall be made in the United States of America or in any other country.

Furthermore, in the United Kingdom this press release is only being distributed to and is only directed at persons who (i) are outside of the United Kingdom or (ii) have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the “Order”); or (iii) are persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) (“high net worth companies, unincorporated associations etc.”) of the Order; or (iv) are persons to whom an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Section 21 of the FSMA) in connection with the issue or sale of any securities may otherwise lawfully be communicated or caused to be communicated (all such persons together being referred to as “Relevant Persons”). Any investment activity to which this communication may relate is only available to, and any invitation, offer, or agreement to engage in such investment activity will be engaged in only with, Relevant Persons. Any person who is not a Relevant Person should not rely on this press release or any of its contents.

Any documentation relating to the Notes will not be submitted to CONSOB (the Italian Securities Exchange Commission) for approval pursuant to the applicable laws and regulations. Therefore, the Notes may not be offered, sold or distributed to the public in the territory of the Republic of Italy, other than to qualified investors, as defined by Article 2(e) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (the “Prospectus Regulation”) and the applicable Italian laws, and in other circumstances which are exempted from the rules on public offers pursuant to Article 1 of the Prospectus Regulation and the applicable Italian laws.

Solely for the purposes of each manufacturer’s product approval process pursuant to the Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on markets in financial instruments, as amended (“MiFID II”), the target market assessment in respect of the Notes has led to the conclusion that: (i) the target market for the Notes is eligible counterparties and professional clients only, each as defined in the MiFID II; and (ii) all channels for distribution of the Notes to eligible counterparties and professional clients are appropriate. Any person subsequently offering, selling or recommending the Notes (a “Distributor”) should take into consideration the manufacturers’ target market assessment; however, a Distributor subject to MiFID II is responsible for undertaking its own target market assessment in respect of the Notes (by either adopting or refining the manufacturers’ target market assessment) and determining appropriate distribution channels.

The offering of the Notes is not intended to be made to and should not be made to any retail investor in the European Economic Area (“EEA”) or the United Kingdom (“UK”). For these purposes, a retail investor means a person who is one (or more) of: (i) a retail client as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II; or (ii) a customer within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2016/97 (as amended or superseded), where that customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in point (10) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II; or (iii) not a qualified investor as defined in Regulation (EU) 2017/1129. Consequently, no key information document required by Regulation (EU) 1286/2014 (the “PRIIPs Regulation”) for offering or selling notes or otherwise making them available to retail investors in the EEA or the UK has been prepared and therefore offering or selling the Notes or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in the EEA or the UK may be unlawful under the PRIIPs Regulation.

In connection with the offering of the Notes, each of the aforementioned banks and their respective affiliates, acting as investors for their own account, may subscribe the Notes and for such reason hold in their portfolios, purchase or sell such securities or any security of the Company or make any related investment. Each and every of the aforementioned banks do not intend to disclose the amount of such investments or transactions other than to the extent required by the applicable laws and regulations.

In connection with the Notes issue, the aforementioned banks are acting on behalf of the Company and no one else and will not be responsible to any other person for providing the protections afforded to their clients or for providing advice given in relation to the securities.

Neither BofA Securities, Goldman Sachs International, IMI – Intesa Sanpaolo, Natixis or UniCredit, nor any of their affiliates or managers, executives, employees, advisors or agents, assume any responsibility whatsoever or make any representation or guarantee, express or implicit, for the correctness, accuracy and/or completeness of the information contained therein (or for the omission of information therein) or for any other information relating to the Company, provided in writing, orally or in the electronic form, and anyhow communicated or made available or for any loss in any way deriving from the use of this press release or its content or anyhow emerge relating to this press release or its content

Stabilisation

In connection with the issue of the Notes, Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. (the “Stabilising Manager”) (or persons acting on behalf of the Stabilising Manager) may over allot Notes or effect transactions for a limited time with a view to supporting the market price of the Notes at a level higher than that which might otherwise prevail in the open market. However, stabilisation may not necessarily occur. Any stabilisation action, if commenced, may begin on or after the date on which adequate public disclosure of the terms of the offer of the Notes is made and, if begun, may cease at any time, and must be brought to an end no later than the earlier of 30 days after the issue date of the Notes and 60 days after the date of the allotment of the Notes. Any stabilisation action or over-allotment must be conducted by the Stabilising Manager (or any person acting on behalf of the Stabilising Manager) in accordance with all applicable laws and rules.

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The prospectus relating to the Notes, when published, will be available at www.webuildgroup.com.

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19/01/2022 - 19:08

Successfully placed new Sustainability-Linked Bond for €400 million. Average corporate debt maturity extended to 3.7 years with more than 85% at fixed rate

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