At $1.75bn, this issue was the biggest ever emerging markets corporate bond and with a 10-year maturity is the longest maturity achieved by any Russian corporate issuer to date.
This was the first bond from OAO Gazprom, the world’s biggest natural gas company, issued under Rule 144A, and investor demand was boosted by the associated increase in disclosure and transparency. The book was more than 3.5 times over-subscribed, resulting in an upsizing of the transaction from $1.25bn.
Given huge demand from a broad range of investors, both by region and type of account, Gazprom was able to price the deal at the tight end of the 9.625% to 9.75% price guidance and succeeded in closing the books before the end of the formal roadshow.
The success of the deal was attributed to a huge marketing effort in the US and Europe by Gazprom, complimenting a solid credit story.
