KT&G terms light up the equity markets

Roadshows for a roughly $500 million deal will begin next Thursday via joint global co-ordinators Credit Suisse First Boston and UBS Warburg. The combined offering is scheduled to price on September 26, although the ratio between the size of the two issues will only be decided on the day of pricing subject to demand.

Representing the sale of a 20% government stake, the deal also marks the first instance of a combined convertible and equity monetization out of Asia. In doing so, it follows recent precedent in Europe where France Telecom monetized a stake in cellular operator Orange and BP sold a stake in LUKOIL. In Asia, the only time that a convertible and DR have been launched simultaneously was in October last year, when China Mobile raised $7.2 billion in new money to purchase seven domestic networks.