Kuwait's Kipco Prices $500M 10-Year Bond To Yield 9.5%

8th Jul 2010 19:01

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Kuwait Projects Co. (KPROJ.KW), Kuwait's largest investment firm with ties to the ruling family, raised $500 million through a 10-year bond deal Thursday, offering investors a yield of 9.5%, according to a person close to the sale. Managers of the deal--Citigroup Inc. (C), BNP Paribas SA (BNPQY, BNP.FR) and HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC, 0005.HK, HSBA.LN)--received around $2 billion in orders for the securities, the person said. Late last year, Kuwait Projects Co. officials told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview that Kipco, as the firm is often called, may issue bonds to finance acquisitions in the region. The bond sale comes to market a month after analysts at Moody's Investors Service downgraded the company's credit ratings to Baa2 from Baa1 and indicated that further downward pressure persists. The analysts noted that Kipco's investment portfolio has a high dependence on just a few holdings and relies heavily on the financial services industry in the Middle East. Terms of the bond deal were as follows: Amount: $500 million Maturity: July 15, 2020 Coupon: 9.375% Price: 99.204 Yield: 9.5% Spread: 647.3 basis points over Treasurys Ratings: Baa2 (Moody's Investors Service) BBB- (Standard & Poor's) BBB- (Fitch) -Kejal Vyas, Dow Jones Newswires; 212 416 2185; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 08, 2010 14:01 ET (18:01 GMT)