Braskem Bond Draws Crowd

Braskem took advantage of a decent tone in the markets Thursday to raise $500m through a new 2022 bond. By whispering 5.625%-area and emerging with 5.500%-area guidance, the Brazilian petrochemical producer was seen offering a decent concession and soon generated a book that reached a healthy $2.8bn with some 250 accounts putting in orders. “Braskem played it safe with a smaller size, allowing it to come back a later date and make a few retaps,” says an investor who saw a 5bp-10bp concession against Braskem’s existing curve. In the end, the bonds priced at 99.809 with 5.375% coupon to yield 5.400%, at the tight end of guidance. The 5bp-10bp concession level comes versus Braskem’s existing 2021 bonds, trading at 104-105 or 5.19% yield pre-announcement, and adding 15bp-18bp for curve extension, according to investors and bankers. The issuer saw demand from a good mix of institutional, and retail accounts from across the US, Europe and Latin America. The paper was trading down 0.01 point in the grey market Thursday afternoon, according to an investor. Banco do Brasil, BTG, HSBC and JPMorgan managed the Baa3/BBB minus sale. Braskem’s previous transaction was a reopening of its 7.375% perpetual bonds in February, adding $250m to the original $450m amount, at a 7.345% yield, through Deutsche Bank, Itau and HSBC.