Telemar Dials Up Jumbo Bond Issue

Brazilian telecom provider Telemar is preparing to sell $1.5bn in bonds, to help fund its BRL13bn acquisition of Brasil Telecom and perhaps give September markets an indication of the new issue premium for investment grade borrowers. To reintroduce the credit to investors after a long hiatus from the dollar bond market, a 2-team roadshow will visit North America, Europe and Asia and finish up next Wednesday. The Telemar Norte Leste unit plans to sell tranches maturing in 2014, 2019 and 2038, with the amount of each to be set during the roadshow. The transaction has a BBB minus/Baa3 rating. Citi, Santander, Bradesco, Banco do Brasil and Itau are bookrunners. In July, Telemar sold BRL3.6bn in 1-year notes at DI plus 1.6%, took out BRL4.3bn in 8-year CCB loans from Banco do Brasil, and said it was eyeing up to $3bn in international debt to finish off the acquisition financing.