Acorn Green Bond Delisted From the NSE

The Acorn Green Bond has been the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) after it opted for an early redemption of its Ksh5.7 billion green bond. Acorn Holdings, which issued the green bond, is listed under the Fixed Income Securities Market Segment of the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).

The delisting of the Acorn Green Bond from the NSE took effect on 4^th October 2024, following the successful early redemption of the outstanding Ksh2,688,800,000 under Acorn Project (Two) Limited Liability Partnership’s Medium-Term Note Programme.

Consequently, the bond ceased to be listed in accordance with the provisions of the Capital Markets (Securities) (Public Offers, Listings, and Disclosures) Regulations, 2023, after the delisting was approved by the Capital Markets Authority. In 2019, the real estate developer was the first to issue a green housing bond on the continent. The bond is held by the company’s Acorn Student Accommodation (ASA) Development Reit and has been paying annual interest of 12.5% to investors.

The ASA D-REIT is the investment vehicle that develops student accommodation properties from land acquisition to construction and completion. Once the assets have achieved stable occupancy, they are sold to the ASA I-REIT on a commercial arms-length basis, providing D-REIT investors with capital gain returns.

The five-year medium-term note issued in November 2019 was set to mature on 8^th November 2024 with the outstanding balance amounting to Ksh2.7 billion. However, the Ksh2.7 billion was repaid on 4^th October 2024.

In February 2023, the property developer secured a Ksh6.7 billion Absa debt to fund 10 projects including both Qwetu and Qejani KU, Qejani Hurlingham and Qejani Juja. In May 2024, Acorn secured an additional US$180 million from the U.S International Development Corporation (DFC) as a seed facility of US$700 million including a financing arranged by Stanbic Bank Kenya.

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