Ocado offers £500m in bonds following Aeon deal

Ocado has announced a £500 million bond issue to fund deals won by tech arm Ocado Solutions.

The online grocer said that the guaranteed senior unsecured convertible bonds, due 2025, are expected to carry a coupon of between 0.75% and 1.25% a year. Shares in the company fell nearly 7% this morning on the back of the news.

Aeon

On Friday, Ocado Solutions inked a technology partnership agreement with Japanese online grocery retailer Aeon, its first in Asia.

This builds on a string of deals with supermarket groups around the world, including Kroger in the US.

"Japan is one of the most high tech economies in the world. It is also a unique and exciting market for grocery e-commerce, with sales primed for huge growth in the coming years,” said Luke Jensen, CEO at Ocado Solutions.

"Aeon is a giant of Japanese retail with a long-standing commitment to delivering outstanding grocery experiences to its customers. I am delighted that they have chosen the Ocado Smart Platform to build on this commitment, bringing cutting-edge innovation and the learnings from a global network of world-class retailers to their e-commerce operations.”

Further details here.