Thomas Cook bond issues raises £650m

16th Apr 2010 09:17

Travel firm Thomas Cook Group raised around £650m through the issue of new sterling and euro bond issues to use for general corporate purposes.It launched and priced a €400m, 5-year Euro bond with an annual coupon of 6.75% maturing in June 2015 and a £300m, 7-year Sterling bond with an annual coupon of 7.75% maturing in June 2017.The bonds are issued without a credit rating but Thomas Cook has made a commitment to obtain two credit ratings before the first interest payment date in April 2011. The bond will be listed on the Stock Exchange."We are delighted with the strong support for this bond issue from a wide group of institutional investors. This transaction strengthens our financial position by diversifying our funding and extending the maturity profile of our debt," said Thomas Cook chief financial officerThe joint book-runners for the Euro bond are Barclays Capital, Commerzbank, HSBC, Société Générale, BayernLB, WestLB and UniCredit. The joint book-runners for the Sterling bond are Barclays Capital, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, ING Bank and RBS.