By Stanley Carvalho and Daniel Bases
ABU DHABI/NEW YORK, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) sold $1.5 billion of five and 10-year global bonds on Wednesday, the latest issues from a $9 billion bond program to help finance investments and repay debt.
TAQA is 75 percent owned by the government of Abu Dhabi and is one of the vehicles the emirate uses to invest oil money. Abu Dhabi holds most of the oil reserves and wealth in the United Arab Emirates, the world's third-largest oil exporter.
The five-year tranche worth $1 billion was sold at a price of 99.451 with a yield of 4.875 percent and a coupon of 4.75 percent. The 10-year tranche worth $500 million was sold at a price of 99.201 with a yield of 6.359 percent and a coupon of 6.25 percent.
Both tranches priced 12.5 basis points narrower than initial price guidance. The five-year is 250 basis points and the 10-year 287.5 basis points over their respective benchmark U.S. Treasuries.
'The order book was roughly $8 billion, split roughly 50/50 between the two tranches,' said one hedge fund manager familiar with the details of the deal.
A company executive told Reuters in July TAQA was looking to raise about $1 billion in bonds.
'The bond issue is for investments, refinancing and general purposes,' a second senior executive said, declining to be identified.
TAQA has so far raised $3.5 billion out of its euro medium term note program. Moody's Investors service rates the bonds at Aa2, two notches down from its top rating of Aaa.
TAQA's stock prices was unchanged on the day.
State and corporate issuers in the world's largest oil exporting region have raised more than $15 billion by issuing bonds over the last six months.
Taqa has already invested $1.5 billion this year and is looking to spend another $1.5 billion over the next six to nine months as the global economic downturn and financial crisis offers more opportunities to buy assets.
It bought four exploration blocks in Britain's North Sea from Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil, Taqa's UK subsidiary said in a statement on Sept 3.
Taqa has amassed over $2 billion of North Sea assets in the last three years as part of an aggressive global expansion.
BNP Paribas, HSBC, Mitsubishi UFJ, Morgan Stanley, and Standard Chartered are acting as joint bookrunners for the deal.
The utility in August signed a $3.15 billion three-year revolving credit to refinance existing debt.
Taqa aims to transform itself into an integrated international energy company after starting out in 2005 as an Abu Dhabi utility.
It plans to almost triple assets to $60 billion by the end of 2012 from around $23 billion it held late last year. The UAE is the world's third-largest oil exporter.
(Writing by John Irish and Daniel Bases; Editing by Dan Grebler) Keywords: TAQA BONDS/ (john.irish@thomsonreuters.com; +971 4 391 8301; Reuters Messaging: john.irish.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
ABU DHABI/NEW YORK, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) sold $1.5 billion of five and 10-year global bonds on Wednesday, the latest issues from a $9 billion bond program to help finance investments and repay debt.
TAQA is 75 percent owned by the government of Abu Dhabi and is one of the vehicles the emirate uses to invest oil money. Abu Dhabi holds most of the oil reserves and wealth in the United Arab Emirates, the world's third-largest oil exporter.
The five-year tranche worth $1 billion was sold at a price of 99.451 with a yield of 4.875 percent and a coupon of 4.75 percent. The 10-year tranche worth $500 million was sold at a price of 99.201 with a yield of 6.359 percent and a coupon of 6.25 percent.
Both tranches priced 12.5 basis points narrower than initial price guidance. The five-year is 250 basis points and the 10-year 287.5 basis points over their respective benchmark U.S. Treasuries.
'The order book was roughly $8 billion, split roughly 50/50 between the two tranches,' said one hedge fund manager familiar with the details of the deal.
A company executive told Reuters in July TAQA was looking to raise about $1 billion in bonds.
'The bond issue is for investments, refinancing and general purposes,' a second senior executive said, declining to be identified.
TAQA has so far raised $3.5 billion out of its euro medium term note program. Moody's Investors service rates the bonds at Aa2, two notches down from its top rating of Aaa.
TAQA's stock prices was unchanged on the day.
State and corporate issuers in the world's largest oil exporting region have raised more than $15 billion by issuing bonds over the last six months.
Taqa has already invested $1.5 billion this year and is looking to spend another $1.5 billion over the next six to nine months as the global economic downturn and financial crisis offers more opportunities to buy assets.
It bought four exploration blocks in Britain's North Sea from Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil, Taqa's UK subsidiary said in a statement on Sept 3.
Taqa has amassed over $2 billion of North Sea assets in the last three years as part of an aggressive global expansion.
BNP Paribas, HSBC, Mitsubishi UFJ, Morgan Stanley, and Standard Chartered are acting as joint bookrunners for the deal.
The utility in August signed a $3.15 billion three-year revolving credit to refinance existing debt.
Taqa aims to transform itself into an integrated international energy company after starting out in 2005 as an Abu Dhabi utility.
It plans to almost triple assets to $60 billion by the end of 2012 from around $23 billion it held late last year. The UAE is the world's third-largest oil exporter.
(Writing by John Irish and Daniel Bases; Editing by Dan Grebler) Keywords: TAQA BONDS/ (john.irish@thomsonreuters.com; +971 4 391 8301; Reuters Messaging: john.irish.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.