Autostrade €2bn fixed rate note due June 2011; €2.75bn 5% due June 2014; €1bn 5.875% due June 2024; and £500m 6.25% due June 2022
Barclays Capital, Calyon, Goldman Sachs, Invercaixa Valores, Mediobanca and Unicredit Banca Mobiliare were joint bookrunners
In the largest corporate transaction in Europe in 2004, Italian toll road operator Autostrade swept the markets with a €6.5bn equivalent four-tranche, dual-currency bond offering.
Notable features included the timing of the deal, when issuance volumes were low and there were persistent concerns about interest rates and oil prices. Autostrade’s offer was not only executed successfully but it also provided direction and impetus to the market.
The judges also noted a rigorous marketing process that yielded €9.4bn in orders from 600 investors. A complex reorganisation of the company in the past 18 months added intricacy to the task. Pricing was at the tight end of talk.
