Morocco’s phosphates and fertilizer giant OCP raised $1.5 billion through its first international hybrid bond, becoming the first African group to issue a US Dollar-denominated hybrid on global markets, an OCP document showed this Thursday.
The transaction also re-opened Middle East and North Africa public primary bond markets after a hiatus of more than a month amid heightened volatility linked to the Iran conflict.
OCP’s inaugural dollar hybrid was split into two tranches for April 2031 with a 6.74% coupon, and another for April 2036 with a 7.37% coupon, according to the OCP document that contains details on the issue and the context.
The bonds were arranged by Parings, Citi and JPMorgan.
Demand was strong despite geopolitical uncertainty, with the order book peaking at just under $7 billion, equivalent to 4.6 times oversubscription, prompting OCP to upsize the transaction, the document showed.
A total of 176 investors from 23 countries participated, it said.
The issuance comes amid tightening global fertiliser markets driven by supply constraints following tensions linked to the Iran conflict and China’s export restrictions.
–Reuters–
