PRESS RELEASE – 9th June 2021
The Hellenic Republic
(Moody’s Ba3 Stable, S&P BB Positive, Fitch BB Stable, DBRS BB (low) Stable)
€2.5bn re-opening of GGB 0.750% due 18th June 2031, taking total size outstanding to €6.0bn
Summary Terms
Format: State Obligation (in dematerialised book entry form), RegS Cat 1, 144A eligible, CACs
Re-opening Size: €2.5 billion, taking the total outstanding to €6.0 billion
Pricing Date: 9th June 2021
Settlement: 18th June 2021
Maturity: 18th June 2031
Coupon: 0.750% Fixed, Annual ACT/ACT, 0 interest accrued
Re-offer Spread: €MS+82 bps
Re-offer Yield: 0.888%
Re-offer Price: 98.685%
Listing: Athens, regulated market
Denominations: €1,000 + €1,000
Lead Managers: BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE, HSBC, J.P. Morgan and Nomura
Transaction Highlights
- On Wednesday 9th June 2021, the Hellenic Republic, rated Ba3 Moody’s / BB S&P / BB Fitch / BB (low) DBRS (stb / pos / stb / stb), priced a €2.5bn tap of its outstanding June 2031 Government Bond (GGB), taking the total outstanding to €6.0bn. The tap was priced at a re-offer yield of 0.888%, equating to a re-offer price of 98.685%. Joint bookrunners on the transaction were BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE, HSBC, J.P. Morgan and Nomura.
- This transaction is the fourth syndicated deal of the Hellenic Republic in 2021, following the successful 10-year issuance in February, 30-year issuance in March and 5-year issuance in May.
- Today’s €2.5bn tap brings the size of the 0.750% June 2031 line to €6.0bn and is the largest single line security outstanding for the Hellenic Republic, adding further liquidity to the GGB market.
- The re-offer spread of €MS+82 bps marks the tightest spread for a 10yr transaction by the Hellenic Republic since its return to the international capital markets in 2017.
- The offering attracted a final orderbook in excess of €30.0bn, implying a 12.0x oversubscription and marks the largest orderbook for any syndicated transaction by the Hellenic Republic.
Execution Summary
- Following the successful 10yr syndication in February and subsequent strong performance in the secondary market, the Hellenic Republic announced its intention to tap its GGB 0.750% due June 31 GGB on Tuesday, 8 June at 11:30 UKT / 12:30 CET.
- The initial market reaction to the announcement was positive, and guidance of €MS+90 bps area was released to the market on Wednesday, 9 June at 08:30 UKT / 09:30 CET.
- The transaction met with a positive reception from the outset and by 10:15 UKT / 11:15 CET the orderbook was in excess of €19.5bn (excluding any joint-lead manager interest). At this time, leads revised price guidance to €MS+85 bps area (+/- 3 WPIR).
- Following the price revision, the orderbook continued to grow as new accounts submitted orders and existing accounts upsized their orders. At 11:00 UKT / 12:00 CET, with books in excess of €26.0bn (excluding any joint-lead manager interest), the leads set the spread at the tight end of the price guidance range at €MS+82 bps.
- Books were closed at 11:15 UKT / 12:15 CET in excess of €30.0bn (inc. €1.7bn joint-lead manager interest). The transaction was subsequently launched at 11:55 UKT / 12:55 CET and the size was set at €2.5bn, taking the total outstanding to €6.0bn.
- Over 300 individual accounts participated in the transaction. Of the allocations, as in the Republic’s previous benchmarks, real money investors accounted for the lion’s share.
- By geography, the transaction was supported throughout Europe, by accounts in the UK, France, Germany, Nordics, Italy, and Greece in particular.
Distribution Statistics
