JEDDAH: Almarai Company has started issuing international Sukuk to institutional investors – qualified investors in the jurisdictions in which the offering will be made in accordance with the rules and regulations of such jurisdictions.
The issuance amount is subject to market conditions, while minimal subscription is $200,000 and integral multiples of $1,000 in excess thereof, subject to market conditions.
First Abu Dhabi Bank, Gulf International Bank, HSBC Bank plc, J.P. Morgan, and Standard Chartered Bank are the lead manager to the issue. The bonds will be listed on the Irish Stock Exchange (Euronext Dublin).
Almarai is the Middle East’s leading food and beverage manufacturer and distributor, and the world’s largest vertically integrated dairy company. A benchmark US$ fixed rate RegS senior unsecured Sukuk offering with intermediate tenor, under Almarai’s newly established $ 2.0 billion Trust Certificate Issuance Program has commenced.
It may be mentioned here Almarai Company, rated Baa3 by Moody’s (stable) and BBB- by S&P (stable), had mandated HSBC and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) as joint global coordinators alongside GIB Capital, J.P. Morgan and Standard Chartered Bank as joint lead managers to arrange a series of fixed income investor meetings in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.