Bookrunners Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, BNP Paribas, and HSBC helped ICICI (rated BBB/Baa2) achieve a benchmark deal and significant diversification of its investor base. The note priced at par at 40bp over Euribor, or 39bp over dollar Libor.
ôThe market settled thanks to favourable economic housing and FOMC data from the US, from which the whole market has been driven lately. This allowed some recovery and stability,ö says one banker.
ICICIÆs 2009 fixed-rate curve is currently trading at 51bp over dollar Libor. This latest offering therefore priced at 12bp through that curve. The deal also priced tight of the 2010 floating-rate curve, yielding 47bp over dollar Libor. A shorter US dollar floater would trade around 5bp tighter, at 42bp over dollar Libor.
ôThe deal priced at a long way through the fixed-rate curve, and a little through the floating-rate curve. ThatÆs good on any day, but a great achievement in the current environment,ö says one market observer.
The note also closed at 3bp over dollar Libor to the State Bank of IndiaÆs outstanding 2009 issue. In contrast, ICICIÆs 2012 issues are currently trading 20bps over dollar Libor to SBIÆs 2012 note.
The deal, which was announced Thursday, closed just 11 hours later on Friday. The book was up to Ç450 million by Thursday evening, Ç650 million by Friday morning, and closed just short of Ç850 million.
Having already raised $2.5 billion this year, the deal is the bankÆs first euro issue. 19% of the bonds went to Asia (including 8% to Hong Kong and 7% to Singapore and some to Japan and Korea) and then an impressive array of European accounts bought the balance. 22% of the bonds were sold to France, 18% to Germany and 11% to the UK, with the remainder allocated to Switzerland, Africa, Austria, Scandinavia, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Iberia, Italy, Slovenia and San Marino. In terms of investor type, 12% went to retail, 13% to pension funds and institutional investors, 23% to banks, 48% to funds and 4% to others.
The bank is likely to swap some of the funds to G3 currencies for use in offshore branches.
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