Note 12 Equity

Authorised capital

The company’s authorised capital is divided into 350 million shares of €5 nominal value. As at year-end 2017, 136,794,964 shares were in issue (2016: 136,794,964).

Subordinated perpetual bond loan

On 27 November 2013, Alliander issued a subordinated perpetual bond loan with a nominal amount of €500 million and a coupon of 3.25% at an issue price of 99.434%, raising an amount of €497 million. The directly attributable costs of €1 million were deducted from this amount, so that €496 million was added to equity. This subordinated perpetual bond loan is treated as equity. Alliander does not have any contractual obligation to repay the loan. Any periodical payments on the loan are conditional and depend on payments to shareholders. As and when resolutions are passed making distributions to shareholders, the Management Board will also pay any arrears of the contractual coupon interest to the holders of the subordinated perpetual bond loan out of other reserves. The annual amount of the interest payable is €16 million.

Revaluation reserve

The revaluation reserve is connected with the available-for-sale financial assets. The decrease of €8 million in the revaluation reserve in 2017 is accounted for by the decrease in value of the available-for-sale financial assets.

Other

The other reserve includes an amount of €0.6 million after tax relating to a defined-benefit pension plan for employees of our activities in Germany.

The hedge reserve, the revaluation reserve and the subordinated perpetual bond loan are not freely distributable.

Non-controlling interest

On 10 July 2012, Alliander acquired a 95% interest in Indigo B.V. This company is a partnership between Alliander and the City of Nijmegen (which has an interest of 5%) to construct a heat transport pipeline from the regional waste-to-energy plant Afvalverwerking Regio Nijmegen (ARN) to the district heating network of Nuon Energy. As at the end of the reporting period, the shareholders’ equity of Indigo BV amounted to €4 million. In accordance with the basis of Alliander’s consolidation, Indigo BV has been consolidated in full with separate disclosure of a non-controlling interest in the consolidated equity. In 2016, Alliander acquired a 95% interest in Warmtenet Hengelo B.V., a company which is developing a district heating system, the first phase of which was commissioned in 2017. The shareholders’ equity of this company as at year-end 2017 amounted to €-0.2 million. In 2017, Alliander had a 75% interest in Warmte-Infrastructuur Limburg Geothermie BV. However, the amount of these non-controlling interests, means that they are not visibly accounted for on the face of the balance sheet as at year-end 2017