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| Friday, 12 March 2004 |
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Emirates launches $50m Bond Issue Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Emirates said recently that the debut Eurobond issue for Emirates is being launched at US $500 million. The issue will be a Floating Rate Note (FRN) with a tenure of seven years and will pay a margin of 0.80 per cent over six months USD Libor. The issue will be listed in Luxembourg. This is the largest ever unrated Eurobond issue by an airline and also the largest ever unsecured issue by a corporation within the GCC. The response to the issue has been extremely positive and Emirates has been able to achieve a wide geographical spread of investors, with over a quarter from Europe /Asia and over half from outside the United Arab Emirates. The bond achieved a new source of funding for Emirates with around two-thirds from new investors. The airline's initial target was US $400m through this bond issue but it increased the final amount to US $500 million to satisfy investor demand. The Joint Lead Managers of the issue are HSBC, Emirates Bank International, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and National Bank of Dubai. HSBC is acting as sole global coordinator of the issue. The size and pricing of the issue have been finalised as a consequence of a book building exercise undertaken alongside a series of roadshows and investor presentations made in London and the Middle East by senior members of the Emirates Management team. Sheikh Ahmed said: "We are gratified by the investors' response to our first offer in the international debt capital markets, which testifies to their confidence in Emirates' financial performance. It is evident that our consistent profitability and sound management are recognised," he said. On behalf of the Joint Leads, David Moleshead, Managing Director, Debt Finance and Advisory, Middle East, HSBC said: "We congratulate the management of Emirates in their vision and commitment in bringing the airline to the international capital markets". |
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