Empire Communities closes C$225 million senior notes offering
Torys acted as counsel to Empire Communities with a team that included Michael Zackheim, Michael Murphy, Arron Chahal, Alessia Azermadhi and Sarah Rimer (corporate/Canadian securities), Chris Bornhorst and Jude Gee (U.S. securities), Tom Zverina, Nadine Rockman Katz, Rebecca Jennings and Sarah Sanders (lending), Richard Johnson and Caroline Sanders (tax).
On November 4, 2024, Empire Communities Corp. (“Empire Communities” or “Empire”) announced that it closed its offering, on a private placement basis, of C$225 million aggregate principal amount of 7.625% senior unsecured notes due November 1, 2029.
The notes, offered on a private placement basis to certain accredited investors in the provinces of Canada, were issued at par and were guaranteed by certain of Empire’s subsidiaries. Interest on the notes will be payable semi-annually in arrears on May 1 and November 1 of each year, commencing on May 1, 2025.
The offering was underwritten by RBC Capital Markets and BMO Capital Markets, as joint bookrunners, J.P. Morgan, as joint passive bookrunner, and CIBC Capital Markets, Desjardins Capital Markets and Scotiabank, as lead managers.
Empire intends to use the net proceeds of the offering:
- to repay, initially, approximately C$221 million under its revolving credit facility;
- use C$150 million of the amount initially repaid under Empire’s revolving credit facility to redeem at par its C$150 million aggregate principal amount of 7.375% senior notes on December 15, 2024; and
- for general corporate purposes.
Further information can be found on Globe Newswire’s website.
Empire Communities is a fully vertically-integrated homebuilder involved in all aspects of the homebuilding and sales process. One of North America’s largest privately held homebuilders, it builds and develops in over 100 intown and suburban communities across Toronto, southwestern Ontario, Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Colorado, targeting primarily entry-level and move-up buyers with attainable product offerings.