According to the three major credit rating agencies, Portuguese debt is junk. The country was downgraded to below investment grade last year and there it remains. However, sentiment towards Portugal has improved – a change that first became noticeable in mid-2012. That shift not only gave the Portuguese government room for optimism, it also allowed some of the country’s largest companies to reconsider their options in the debt market.
Energias de Portugal (EdP) was one such company. A leading gas and electricity business with interests in Portugal, Spain and Brazil, the group re-entered the corporate bond market in 2012 but was keen to do more, specifically with a particular asset relating to renewable energy.
