Russian mobile operator MegaFon’s finance unit has closed the book for its series 05 bonds totalling Rbs10bn (US$322.9m).
The ten-year bonds were three times oversubscribed, allowing for a reduction in the marketing range for the coupon range from…
Russian mobile operator MegaFon’s finance unit has closed the book for its series 05 bonds totalling Rbs10bn (US$322.9m).
The ten-year bonds were three times oversubscribed, allowing for a reduction in the marketing range for the coupon range from 8.2-8.45% to 8.0-8.1%, the company announced today.
More than 50 investors submitted requests for the bonds, MegaFon stated, adding that the final pricing determined a coupon rate of 8.05%.
Final settlements for the placed bonds, which have a put option two years from the offering date, is set to take place at the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX) on 11 October.
VTB Capital and Sberbank CIB arranged the issue as book-runners, while Globexbank acted as co-arranger and Ron-Invest as underwriter.
Commenting on the bond issue – MegaFon’s first in several years – CEO Ivan Tavrin said: “The proceeds will be used for repayment of the current short-term debt which will improve our portfolio structure due to the longer average maturity periods and lower average rates.”
Late last month, Standard & Poor’s assigned the then-proposed issue a BBB- rating, in line with the company’s long-term corporate credit rating.
Back in May, TelecomFinance reported that a bond would be used to refinance loans totalling about US$4.5bn, which the company took out with six international banks ahead of its April ownership reshuffle.
MegaFon listing coming closer
MegaFon is also working toward an IPO on the London Stock Exchange. According to a Friday afternoon report the launch of the pre-marketing for the listing is imminent. Referring to three sources familiar with the situation, Reuters said the pre-marketing for the US$3bn IPO could start as early as next week.
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