30-01-2012 11:45:52

Socar picks Citigroup for $500m eurobonds

Azerbaijan’s state oil company Socar is in the "final stages" of selling $500 million in Eurobonds, President Rovnag Abdullayev was quoted by Bloomberg as saying last Saturday.

The company has mandated Citigroup Inc. and other "major" banks for the sale, Abdullayev said in an interview in Davos, Switzerland, where he was attending the World Economic Forum. He didn't name the other banks.

"We will be active in the capital markets," he said through a translator. "We are in the final stages of issuing the Eurobonds."

"In 2012, Socar and the State of Azerbaijan are planning to implement new projects," Abdullayev said without elaborating.

The international rating agencies Fitch Ratings and Moody's Investors Service have recently assigned a rating to the upcoming debut Eurobond to be issued by Socar.

The assessment provided by Moody's is a provisional (P)Ba1 rating assigned with stable outlook, the agency said last Friday.

Moody's expects that the Eurobond issuance will total up to $500 million. The proceeds of the notes will constitute general unsecured and unsubordinated obligations of Socar.

Moody's anticipates that the maturity of the notes will not exceed five to seven years. Moreover, the rating agency expects that Socar will use the proceeds of the notes to partially fund its upstream and downstream activities, including financing of capital expenditure.

TAGS: Azerbaijan, Socar, final stages, Eurobonds, Rovnag Abdullayev, Citigroup Inc., Davos, Switzerland, World Economic Forum, Moody