Koc Holding talks six-year notes; India’s Jubilant Pharma prices; Digicel plans notes deal

By Rebecca Melvin

New York, March 5 – Emerging markets debt was lackluster on Tuesday with bonds mixed to lower in trade.

Turkey’s industrial conglomerate Koc Holding AS was in the market talking dollar-denominated six-year notes, but Turkey’s sovereign curve was decidedly lower in price in the secondary market and the lira remained weak against the U.S. dollar.

Initial price talk for the Koc notes was for a yield of 6 7/8% to 7%. The pricing was expected to tighten up before final terms were expected to be set later in the session.

There was no word on other deals in EM debt outside of Asia. But from India the Export-Import Bank of India was heard to be planning dollar-denominated senior notes, while pricing emerged for India’s Jubilant Pharma Ltd. The pharmaceutical and life sciences company priced $200 million of 6% unsecured bonds due March 2024 at par.

The Regulation S notes were sold via bookrunners DBS Bank Ltd., J.P. Morgan (SEA) Ltd. and UBS AG, Singapore branch.

Also for India, Lakshmi Vilas Bank Ltd. informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that its board of directors will meet on Friday to consider and approve raising funds by way of issuing unsecured subordinated nonconvertible perpetual additional tier 1 debentures.

The noncumulative Basel 3 compliant debentures would be issued on a private placement basis.

The bank is based in Karur, India.

Elsewhere, high-yield issuer Digicel International Finance Ltd. and Digicel Holdings Ltd. said it plans to price $550 million of five-year first-lien senior secured notes on Thursday.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Barclays, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. are the bookrunners for the Rule 144A and Regulation S for life offering.

The Kingston, Jamaica-based mobile phone network provider will use proceeds to refinance Digicel’s short-term secured debt.

The notes are callable after two years at par plus 50% of the coupon.

There is an equity clawback of 40% at par plus the coupon within the first two years. There is a poison put at 101.

U.S. stocks ended the session lower after the major indexes had their worst drop in nearly a month on Monday as investors continue to worry about global growth.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 13 points, or less than 0.1%, at 4 p.m. ET, after earlier falling as much as 94 points. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite also fell slightly.

U.S. Treasuries ended slightly higher pulling the yield on the benchmark, 10-year Treasury note down to 2.717%.

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