ANZ closes Telco bond issue

MUMBAI, Dec 1: Telco’s 13 per cent secured non-convertible debenture issue has successfully closed within two-days of its launch, having garnered commitments for Rs 127 crore against a targeted amount of Rs 50 crore with an option to retain an additional Rs 25 crore.

According to Prakash Subramanian, assistant director, ANZ Investment Bank, with the market’s current penchant for short-term investments, the Telco issue did well despite call rates hardening to nine to 9.1 per cent during the issue period and cut off yields on 14-day and 91-day treasury bills hardening by 52 and 12 basis points respectively. ANZ Investment Bank lead managed the issue.

“The market responded positively due to the strong credit quality of the company and the lack of comparable paper in the market. Moreover, with financial institutions currently offering 12.75 per cent for 13 months with a 20 per cent risk weight, Telco’s issue at 13 per cent for 364 days and with a 100 per cent risk weight, was amongst the most tightly pricedissues,” Subramanian said in a statement here. The Telco issue was done at a narrow spread of 180 basis points over government securities for the same tenor.