UPDATE: Mumtalakat's $750M 5-Yr Bond Attracted $3.25B Orders

24th Jun 2010 11:04

(Adds bond disbursement from HSBC.) By Mirna Sleiman Of ZAWYA DOW JONES DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--Bahrain's Mumtalakat Holding Co., the Gulf Arab state's sovereign wealth fund, attracted orders of $3.25 billion for its $750 million bond, easing pricing. Mumtalakat had originally set price guidance on its five-year bond at 350 basis points over midswaps but lowered it to 300 basis points due to high demand, the person, who asked not to be named, told Zawya Dow Jones late Wednesday. Deutsche Bank AG, HSBC Holdings PLC, JP Morgan Chase & Co. and Standard Chartered Bank were lead managers on the deal. HSBC said that 37% of the bonds were bought in the Middle East; 36% in Europe; 20% in Asia and 7% by U.S. offshore funds. Standard & Poor's Corp. and Fitch Ratings have assigned the upcoming bonds an expected 'A' rating. Mumtalakat has a portfolio worth around $10 billion, 98% of which is invested mainly in stakes across state-owned companies and other private investments, and 2% of which is allocated to external fund managers. Talal Al Zain, the fund's chief executive officer, told Zawya Dow Jones in an interview last month that Mumtalakat plans to divest some of its assets, while possibly selling stakes in some of the companies in its portfolios, either to strategic partners or as shares to the public. Set up in 2006 as a holding company for the government's non oil-and-gas assets, Mumtalakat has invested mostly at home, with the bulk invested in private or state-owned companies. Its portfolio includes 50% of Bahrain's national carrier Gulf Air, aluminum manufacturer Alba, and a 42% stake in McLaren Group Ltd., the parent company of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1 racing team. -By Mirna Sleiman, Dow Jones Newswires; +9714 446-1698; [email protected] Copyright (c) 2010 Dow Jones & Co. (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 24, 2010 06:04 ET (10:04 GMT)