UK-listed Globalworth Real Estate Investment, a major investor in Central and Eastern Europe, has announced it has successfully priced a €550 mln Eurobond.
The five-year euro-denominated bond matures on 20 June 2022 and carries a fixed interest rate of 2.875% payable annually beginning on 20 June 2018.
'We are delighted by the strong interest shown from international investors in our inaugural Eurobond transaction and a landmark bond issue for a real estate investment company active in the broader CEE region,' commented Dimitris Raptis, deputy CEO and chief investment officer.
'With this transaction we are greatly simplifying our debt capital structure, significantly reducing our average cost of debt and further increasing our war chest for the next phase of our growth in Romania and the broader CEE region, predominantly in Poland,' Raptis added.
Globalworth said it had applied for the bond to be admitted to the official list of the Irish Stock Exchange and to trade on its regulated market. The bond has been rated BB+/Stable by Standard & Poor's and Ba2/Stable by Moody's.
The net proceeds from the offering will be used to repay some debt and for general corporate purposes.
Deutsche Bank AG, JP Morgan Securities and UBS acted as joint bookrunners, while BT Capital Partners and Rand Merchant Bank, a division of FirstRand Bank Limited (London Branch) acted as co-managers.
Globalworth was founded by Greek billionaire investor-developer Ioannis Papalekas to take advantage of investment opportunities in the SEE and CEE regions. The company, which listed in London in July 2013, initially focused on Romania but is now expanding in the region.
