Costa Rican telecoms and electricity conglomerate Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) has placed US$500m worth of eurobonds with international institutional investors.
The order book for the notes, which mature in 2043 and carry a 6.375%…
Costa Rican telecoms and electricity conglomerate Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) has placed US$500m worth of eurobonds with international institutional investors.
The order book for the notes, which mature in 2043 and carry a 6.375% annual interest rate, was ten times oversubscribed, according to a company statement.
Citibank and Deutsche Bank acted as bookrunners.
State-owned ICE plans to use US$386m of the proceeds from this offering to refinance maturing debt and fund its capex programme, Moody’s noted in a release. The ratings agency assigned a provisional Baa3 rating to the offering.
“The rating acknowledges ICE’s incumbent position in the Costa Rican telecommunication industry that provides some diversification benefits from a product offering perspective and cash flow generation.
“However, Moody’s believes the issuer faces significant challenges including the existence of two new entrants that began mobile operations end of 2011 and have the financial strength to implement very aggressive competitive strategies,” the ratings agency wrote.
ICE controls Kolbi, Costa Rica’s dominant mobile operator. Movistar, controlled by Telefonica, and Claro, owned by America Movil, currently lag behind the carrier.
