Zurich, Switzerland – Obligate, the leading on-chain capital markets platform, along with its partner Capital Système Investissements, an investment management company, has successfully completed a bond issuance for the publicly traded French Computer Manufacturing company Metavisio (EPA: ALTHO), utilizing USDC and deployed on the Polygon PoS blockchain, it announced on March 14. The rating for this issuance was provided by Credora.
Stephan Français, CEO of Metavisio expresses his enthusiasm for the success of this issuance: "By being the first publicly traded company to issue a bond on the blockchain, Metavisio proves that it knows how to stay at the forefront of innovation and constantly adapt to new technologies and new investors. We want to thank our partner Capital Système Investissements and Obligate for this initiative”.
The proceeds from this bond issuance are earmarked for Metavisio's expansion into manufacturing operations in India, supporting the company's growth strategy and keeping its position as the leader in their segment in France, aiming to consolidate globally. Metavisio, recognized for its innovative computing solutions and having already a significant international presence, will bolster its production capabilities to meet growing demand globally. With a committed order pipeline of $50 million across 52 countries, and an expansion goal covering 195 countries by the end of 2024, this financial initiative is instrumental in Metavisio's continued global expansion.
Oscar Buhler, Senior Relationship Manager at Obligate adds "This achievement in issuing the first-ever digital bond for a public company without banking intermediaries involved is an innovative moment for both the financial industry and the decentralized finance (DeFi) environment. Offering a paradigm shift in capital markets and transformative solutions to our clients, this collaboration not only pioneers a new phase in corporate finance but also opens doors to unprecedented opportunities”.
This issuance sets a new precedent in the Corporate Finance sector by illustrating that companies can access funding efficiently without the need for banking intermediaries. By significantly cutting costs and time associated with legacy bond issuance processes, Obligate enables more seamless access for Metavisio investors. Obligate achieves this by leveraging smart contract technology on the Polygon and Base blockchains to replace the role of the issuer and paying agent in the traditional bond settlement process.
Following Obligate’s recent successful issuances with Polytrade, TradeFlow, and participation in the Tokenization Coalition, this issuance by Metavisio represents a further step in the adoption of blockchain technology within capital markets.
