Temasek-owned Vertex Holdings to issue bonds worth $330m

Vertex Venture Holdings, the venture capital arm of Singapore state-owned investor Temasek Holdings, is issuing S$450 million (US$330 million) in bonds.

According to Vertex, this is the first Singapore dollar-denominated public corporate bonds released by a global VC firm. The bonds are also part of the its US$2 billion multicurrency debt issuance program.

For its inaugural offer under the program, Vertex will introduce a seven-year Singapore dollar bond with a coupon rate – the rate of interest paid on a bond – of 3.3%. The bonds are expected to be issued by July 28.

Photo credit: Vertex Venture Holdings

Vertex will use the bond proceeds to bankroll investments, refinance existing borrowings, and redeem preference shares, in addition to using the cash for general capital and corporate purposes.

“We decided to issue this corporate bond not just to diversify and extend our sources of funding as part of our transformational journey, but also to sensitize investors who have hitherto not been exposed to venture capital to this asset class,” Vertex chairman Teo Ming Kian said in a statement.

Founded in 1988, the investment holding company has over 200 technology and healthcare firms in its active global portfolio.

Currency converted from Singaporean dollar to US dollar: US$1 = S$1.36

Update: The headline was changed from Vertex Ventures to Vertex Holdings.