La Poste to make rare foray into bond market
La Poste, the French postal service operator, is aiming to complete a quick-fire bond offering this week ahead of transactions from Deutsche Post and Poste Italiane.La Poste awarded the mandate for a benchmark 15-year offering late last week to BNP Paribas and HSBC, but demand has proved strong and bankers close to the deal expect launch to take place by mid-week.
One banker said: “La Poste is an extremely rare issuer that always attracts a strong response. Not much marketing was needed and we have already received a lot of inquiries from investors both within and outside France.”
Demand for La Poste’s bond is unlikely to suffer from competition with Deutsche Post and Poste Italiane. The German postal firm, which is rated Aa3 /A+, is seeking to raise ‘1bn ($945m) via Credit Suisse First Boston, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley. Poste Italiane, which carries a Aa2/AA- rating from Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s, is preparing a euro-denominated bond via Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan.
Analysts say La Poste is a different credit from its German and Italian counterparts. It is rated triple-A by S&P and Fitch, and enjoys quasi-agency status in France, making it an attractive option for investors that are hunting for highly-rated, safe instruments during a time of uncertainty over corporate credit quality.
The banker said: “While this is a classic French transaction, the bonds will appeal to non-French investors as well. The only drawback is that the bond market has rallied strongly on the back of weakness in the equity market.”
The transaction will be La Poste’s first benchmark bond since October 1999, when it raised ‘625m through a 12-year bond lead managed by ABN Amro and CDC.
