Boston Properties is betting big on sustainability. The company, which owns and manages 20 million square feet of projects that have LEED Gold and LEED Platinum certification, is looking to raise $1 billion in a public offering to fund its green projects across the country.
Boston Properties expects to make $988.1 million in proceeds from the offering, the firm announced in a press release on Wednesday. The unsecured senior notes have an interest rate of 4.5 percent and mature in December 2028. The company intends to use the proceeds for recently completed and future green projects, which includes the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco. The tower, a LEED Platinum property that is considered as one of the greenest office buildings in the country, is jointly owned by Boston Properties and Hines.
The firm also plans to repay debt, particularly senior notes that are due for redemption, in October 2019. The company is also considering investing a portion of the proceeds in a short-term purchase of securities.
Boston Properties in April announced plans to cut its water and energy use and greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. The company, which claims to have exceeded its 2020 target three years early, is planning to further cut its energy consumption by 32 percent, its water use by 30 percent and its greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent.
Deutsche Bank Securities, J.P. Morgan Securities, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, Morgan Stanley, BNY Mellon Capital Markets, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Jefferies LLC, Scotia Capital (USA) Inc., SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc., TD Securities (USA) and U.S. Bancorp Investments are serving as joint book-running managers. The offering is expected to close on Nov. 28.