Rating: Baa1/A/A-
Amount: €7bn Reg S/144A
Maturity: 1 September, 2050
Issue/reoffer price: 99.280
Coupon: 2.45%
Spread at reoffer: 6bp over the 3.85% September 2049 BTP
Launched: Wednesday, January 15
Payment date: January 22
Joint books: Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citi, Crédit Agricole
Borrower’s comment:
The market was very muted towards the end of last year, so we were pretty sure that there would be a massive amount of liquidity available at the start of the new year.
This is our largest order book for any BTP 30 year syndication. The demand was very strong and to some extent it went beyond our expectations. However, we knew there was interest for this part of the curve.
We printed a large size, but we could have done even more. However, we decided to limit the size in order to guarantee performance of the bond in the secondary market over the coming weeks and months.
This is the lowest coupon and yield for a new 30 year bond issued by Italy in the public market.
The new issue premium was largely non-existent.
We have worked hard to keep this as low as possible. There was probably a maximum of 1bp-1.5bp of concession versus the secondary market.
For the rest of the year, depending on market conditions, there may be other syndications on the long end part of the curve, both nominal and inflation-linked. We are also fully committed to our green bond programme, although there is still a lot of work to do — such as to evaluate green expenditures in our budget and monitor their evolution over time.
We are also committed to the US dollar market. The goal is to complete our curve as much as possible.
Geographical distribution
Italy 31.9%
UK 18.3%
North America 15.1%
France 8.4%
Germany/Austria/Switzerland 8.3%
Nordic countries 7.6%
Iberian Peninsula 4%
Asia 3.7%
Other Europe 2.4%
Other 0.3%
Distribution by investor type
Fund managers 67.9%
Banks 13.3%
Central banks/official institutions 6.4%
Pension funds/insurance companies 5.7%
Hedge funds 6.5%
Corporations 0.1%
Other 0.1%
Market appraisal:
“…all tenors have already been tested this year from five to 100 years, which is different from last year when there was a lot of 10 year supply,”
“…it’s self-fulfilling. When you get a record book, it spurs the next one to be even bigger.”
“…the book doesn’t always tell you that much, but it’s clear this was a success and the market is on fire.”
