Greece’s Hellenic Petroleum to meet investors to promote debut bond
Hellenic Petroleum SA, Greece’s largest refiner, is said to be planning its first-ever bond sale.
The unrated company is arranging investor meetings in Zurich, Geneva, London and Athens starting April 23, according to a person familiar with the deal who asked not to be identified because the details are private. The Athens-based refiner would be the first Greek company to issue bonds since Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA sold 700 million euros ($916 million) of five-year bonds in January.
Greece’s government reached an agreement this week with its so-called troika of creditors over conditions related to the country’s next bailout payment. It includes the privatization of assets such as Athens International Airport, which may be bought by Shenzhen Airport Co. and Friedmann Pacific Asset Management, according to a statement yesterday.
“There’s momentum around Greece at the moment with privatizations and the troika’s review concluded without requiring new fiscal measures, which was pretty positive,” said Lefteris Farmakis, a strategist at Nomura International Plc in London. “That could possibly make it easier for a Greek company to sell bonds at this time.”
Hellenic Petroleum, which operates three refineries in Greece, raised 830 million euros of loans in January to replace borrowings from 2007. The company received a 605 million-euro facility from a group of banks and a 225 million-euro loan arranged by Alpha Bank AE.
Vasilis Tsaitas, a spokesman for Hellenic Petroleum in Athens, confirmed the company will meet investors for a possible Eurobond transaction.
Alpha Bank, Credit Suisse Group AG, Eurobank, HSBC Holdings Plc and NBG Securities have been mandated to arrange the meetings.
[Bloomberg]