Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) the Lomé-based parent company of the Ecobank Group, has successfully raised an additional $50 million in Eurobonds, the bank says.
The bond due in April 2024 will be consolidated to form a single series with the $450 million 9.5% issued in April 2019 and due in April 2024, the pan-African bank said in a statement to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday.
The tap issuance was launched as a RegS 5-year USD denominated senior unsecured bond offering. It was oversubscribed by over 4.6 times.
Ade Ayeyemi, Group Chief Executive Officer of ETI, on the success of the transaction, said ETI’s ability to open Africa to the world makes the bank a compelling choice as investor appetite deepens for emerging market offerings.
Acting Group Chief Financial Officer, Ayo Adepoju, commented that the success of the raise “which was more than four times oversubscribed, confirms ETI as an attractive investment for fixed income investors.”
The issue price of the bond is 104.915% of the principal amount reflecting a yield of 8.25%, a difference of 1.5 percentage points and a significant improvement from the yield of 9.75% for the initial issue.
The tap issue with credit ratings of B and B- Stable respectively according to Standard and Poor’s and Fitch- in line with ETI’s corporate rating- have been placed with a broad range of institutional debt investors across Europe and Africa.
The transaction resonates with the pan-African bank’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 statement said.
The capital raised would be channelled to finance ETI’s general corporate activities and boost liquidity.
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