In late November, Comcast broke new ground by including a total of five Service Disabled Veteran Business Enterprises (SDVBEs) and Veteran-owned Business Enterprises (VBEs) in its first ever Formosa bond offering. It is the first ever Formosa bond offering to include only veteran-owned broker dealers as junior co-structuring agents.
A Formosa bond is a debt instrument issued in Taiwan, but denominated in a currency other than the New Taiwan dollar. Formosa bonds offer the issuer, in this case Comcast, the ability to diversify and broaden its global investor footprint to include Taiwanese insurance companies.
While such international portfolio diversification by corporations is common, what’s groundbreaking is Comcast’s commitment to promote, increase, and improve the participation of diverse businesses specific to SDBVEs and VBEs in the transaction. By including the five firms (my firm - Mischler Financial Group, Inc., as well as Academy Securities, Inc., CAVU Securities LLC, Drexel Hamilton, LLC, and Multi-Bank Securities, Inc.) it illustrates the importance of veterans and veteran businesses to Comcast. The company currently employs thousands of veterans and has committed to making an additional 10,000 military hires by the end of 2017, including veterans and reservists currently serving in the National Guard & Reserve, as well as military spouses and domestic partners.
My company is proud to have been part of Comcast’s first ever Formosa bond offering. It gives the participating veteran-owned firms a global footprint and is a tribute to the men and women who served our great nation and is a recognition of the skills they bring to the market.