Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) plans to issue a debut $500 million five-year Eurobond, priced to yield 8.5 – 9 percent, the lender told BusinessDay on Thursday.
According the Pan-Africa bank, the bond which will be quoted on the London Stock Exchange is tradable both local and internationally.
“This is an opportunity for our clients who seek attractive U.S. Dollar returns for their investment portfolio,” the lender said in a mail response.
The joint lead managers on the transaction include; Deutsche Bank, Renaissance Capital, Standard Bank and Standard Chartered Bank.
The group announced last year that it was suspending its road show due to difficult market conditions.
Ade Ayeyemi, CEO of the Lomé-based pan-African group, said market conditions in emerging countries hardened and as such they may postpone the issuance to 2019.
“There was no trade war when we started. Now, we wait. If things do not calm down, we will just postpone to next year (2019),” Ayeyemi had mentioned.
According to the financial institution, the bond issuance which is slated to end its book building in April 12th, 2019 is rated “B” – (Stable) by both Fitch and S&P.
Present in about 30 African countries, Ecobank recorded a post-tax profit of N101.9 billion in 2018. This amounts to a 46 percent increase when compared to the N69.7 billion it reported in 2017.
