Rating: Aa3/A+ Amount: $450m Maturity: December 17, 2009 Issue price: 100.00 Coupon: one month Libor plus 16bp Launched: Tuesday December 14 Joint books: ABN Amro, JP Morgan Bookrunner's comment: ABN Amro ? They issued $450m but could have done more. The Aa3/A+ rating and pricing of Libor plus 16bp proved attractive and the transaction went well. We were pleased with the demand. We announced the issue at around 8.30am and closed the books at 10.30am with over $800m in orders. What pleased us and the issuer particularly was the level of European distribution. About 60% of the deal went to Europe and the rest to the US and that's what they wanted ? to broaden their distribution base in dollars. There seems at this point in time more demand for longer dated floaters in Europe than the US. The deal offered about a 1bp-1.5bp premium to secondaries. We went out with guidance of 18bp area and priced at the tight end of the range at 16bp.
December 17, 2004
