…Ecobank Transnational Incorporated $50 million Eurobond tap issuance offering successfully closes with books 4.6x oversubscribed and an improved yield of 8.25%Lomé,
THUR, JUNE 06 2019-theG&BJournal-Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, ETI, the Lomé-based parent company of the Ecobank Group, announced today that it has successfully tapped the international capital markets for an additional $50 million in Eurobonds due April 2024.
‘’The Bonds will be consolidated and form a single series with the $450 million 9.5% issued in April 2019and due in April 2024,’’ Ecobank said.
This tap issuance was launched as a RegS 5-year USD denominated senior unsecured bond offering. It was oversubscribed by over 4.6times.
The issue price is 104.915% of the principal amount reflecting a yield of 8.25%, a solid improvement from the yield of 9.75% for the initial issue. The proceeds will be used for ETI’s general corporate purposes and will further strengthen the liquidity of ETI.
According to Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, the transaction is in line with ETI’s strategic objectives and forms part of the proactive management of its balance sheet to diversify funding sources and extend the average debt maturity profile.
The Bonds have been placed with a broad range of institutional debt investors across Europe and Africa. Both Standard and Poor’s and Fitch have confirmed credit ratings of B and B-Stable respectively to this tap issue, in line with ETI’s corporate rating.
Mr. Ade Ayeyemi, Group Chief Executive Officer of ETI, stated: “As investor appetite deepens for emerging market offerings, we are positioned to offer the value that global investors seek. Our ability to open Africa to the world makes us a compelling choice. We appreciate the trust vested in us in continuing to build a strong independent African institution; a force for economic development in all of our operating markets.”
The acting Group Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Ayo Adepoju, also commented on the issuance saying: “The success of this tap which was more than four times oversubscribed, confirms ETI as an attractive investment for fixed income investors. We are pleased with the performance of the initial issue on the secondary markets and the increasingly competitive terms we have been able to achieve with this tap, as evidenced by a 150-basispoint reduction in yield.”
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