SERBIAN TELCO LEADER - THE FIRST REGIONAL COMPANY TO SUCCESSFULLY ISSUE INTERNATIONAL CORPORATE BONDS
TELEKOM SRBIJA RAISES $900 MILLION UNDER FAVOURABLE FINANCIAL TERMS FOLLOWING THE ISSUE OF EUROBONDS
Telekom Srbija has successfully issued international corporate eurobonds at the Dublin stock exchange, at the value of USD 900 million. Telekom Srbija’s eurobond issue stirred a massive interest, which had a positive impact on cutting down the interest rate, thus further enhancing the terms of financing.
Telekom Srbija’s CEO, Vladimir Lučić, said that it was one of the company’s greatest international achievements, adding the following: ’’The interest was immense, making the demand for Telekom Srbija’s eurobonds seven times higher than the offer, reaching USD 5.5 billion. We are very pleased with the impression our company has left on the international market, given that Telekom Srbija is the first company in this area whose bonds are listed on an international stock market. The funds raised will be used for refinancing the outstanding portion of the debt“.
The USD 900-million issue has been arranged subject to 7% USD annual interest rate. Following a USD-to-EUR currency hedging, the ultimate interest rate will be approximately 5.9% in euro currency.
’’The interest was so high that the first 10 minutes into the entry to the capital market, the offer skyrocketed to almost one billion US dollars, which is incredible“, says Vladimir Lučić.
The participants in the process of Telekom Srbija’s eurobond issuance were BNP Paribas, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, Erste Group, Raiffeisen bank, UniCredit and MUFG.
Telekom Srbija has issued eurobonds without any warranties, which reaffirms the trust of prestigious investors in the company’s operations in Serbia and the region as well as abroad. S&P Global has rated the bonds BB- with stable outlook, and Fitch rated it B+ with positive outlook. The very fact that this is the first time a company from the region was awarded the credit rating for its bonds by international rating agencies is significant for other companies as well, both in Serbia and in the region.
