Bird Construction Inc. is moving to sell corporate bonds for the first time as it looks to raise approximately C$250 million, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. Those sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the transaction publicly, said the debt will likely carry maturities in the five- to seven-year range.
Credit-watchers note that Morningstar DBRS currently assigns Bird an issuer rating of BBB (low) with a stable trend. That rating sits at the lowest rung of investment-grade classifications.
The planned financing comes after a May 14 announcement from BCE Inc. (TSX:BCE), which confirmed a formal, long-term partnership with Bird to construct data centers over multiple years. As part of that arrangement, BCE named Bird the lead construction partner for a 300 megawatt data center project in Saskatchewan. The Saskatchewan facility has financial backing from CoreWeave Inc., in addition to support from BCE.
According to the persons familiar with the planned bond sale, Bird has not previously issued corporate bonds. The company declined to comment on the proposed offering when approached.
The partnership between Bird and BCE represents a multi-year commitment to data center construction, the parties said in the announcement. Details beyond the public statements and the information reported to the market remain limited based on available reporting.
Context and implications
Bird's move into the bond market would mark a new financing step for the Canadian contractor, following the public confirmation of a significant, multi-year data center build program with BCE. The issuer rating assigned by Morningstar DBRS - BBB (low) with a stable trend - is a material detail for potential investors, reflecting the firm's current investment-grade status at the lower end of that scale.
The company has not provided comment on the transaction, and reporting to date relies on unnamed sources for the size and structure of the proposed deal. Additional specifics on pricing, underwriting, and final maturity will depend on how the offering is structured and disclosed by Bird or its advisers.