Rating: A2/A
Amount: $1bn global bond (increased from $750m)
Maturity: December 16, 2002
Issue/re-offer price: 100.00
Coupon: three month Libor plus 77bp
Launched: Wednesday December 14
Joint books: Bank of America, Chase Manhattan
Bookrunner's comment:
BoA - We had strong demand for this deal and it was oversubscribed. Investors still regard DaimlerChrysler as a big blue chip corporate. The upsize is the proof of the pudding.
We did not have any specific comparables - we priced it against DaimlerChrysler's outstanding debt. The market has been softer since the credit issues came up. The market has not been great recently.
DaimlerChrysler's bonds had been trading wider, as had a lot of the autos and other financial paper. The rating agencies' actions had been priced in.
The deal was free to trade at 75bp, and it is 76bp/74bp. It has outperformed the market, but not dramatically.
The book was mainly US, with a significant proportion going to the UK and Europe. Maybe one-third of the deal was sold into Europe. Distribution was broken down between traditional money managers, bank portfolios and to a lesser extent insurance companies.
