Southern Co., the holding company of several electricity distributors including Alabama Power and Georgia Power, has entered floating-to-fixed interest-rate swaps with a USD470 million notional size to lock in rates ahead of a planned debt issue. Todd Perkins, manager in credit and risk oversight in Atlanta, said the swaps were executed in anticipation of two Alabama Power bonds sales later in the year. Locking in a fixed rate removes any uncertainty from the transaction, he said. Gaining protection against a possible rate hike may be an extra benefit, he added.
The energy giant entered a five-year swap for USD250 million and a three-year swap for USD220 million, however, this might not be the exact size of the bond issues, Perkins noted.
Perkins said it entered the swaps with several counterparties and they were chosen according to price. He declined to name the firms.
