Russian telco MegaFon has closed the books for its Rbs15bn (US$431.25m) bond offering “at a time of very difficult market conditions,” CEO Ivan Tavrin said.
He thanked investors for their confidence in the issue that was oversubscribed by more than…
Russian telco MegaFon has closed the books for its Rbs15bn (US$431.25m) bond offering “at a time of very difficult market conditions,” CEO Ivan Tavrin said.
He thanked investors for their confidence in the issue that was oversubscribed by more than four times.
The substantial demand from investors allowed the initial marketing coupon guidance to drop twice, firstly from 9.8%-10% to 9.45%-9.6% and then to the final rate of 9.45%, the company said in a statement.
Gazprombank, Raiffeisenbank and UniCredit Bank are lead arrangers for the ruble-denominated issue, while Gazprombank is also placement agent.
The 10-year series BO-04 bonds will be allocated to investors on the Moscow Stock Exchange on 20 May. On the first anniversary of placement, the bonds may be subject to a put option and the coupon revised.
MegaFon CEO Tavrin commented: “We highly appreciate the fact that after a long period of scarce primary activity in the market, MegaFon’s bond offering has been met with very strong demand.”
Proceeds are to be used for general corporate purposes, including the refinancing of existing debt.
The issue forms part of a five-series bond programme worth a total Rbs60bn (US$1.9bn), admitted to trading on the Moscow exchange on 27 June 2013. Approved by the MegaFon board last May, the bond programme is designed to improve the company’s debt profile and meet refinancing targets. The company’s last bond – worth Rbs20bn (US$652.5m) – was placed in March 2013.
