Telekom Austria has covered its 2012 refinancing needs with a fresh bond issue via its subsidiary Telekom Finanzmanagement.
The total sum raised by the bond sale stands at €1.5 billion, with the bulk of the sum coming from investors in France, Germany and Austria. The bonds have a maturity of ten years, bear a coupon of 4% per annum, and are worth a minimum of €1,000 each.
Hans Tschuden, chief financial officer at Telekom Austria Group, says the coupon price enabled the firm to fund itself at a level well below its average cost of debt, while the decade-long maturity adds strength to its funding base. “With an allocation of approximately 70% to investment funds, 14% to banks and retail investors, 11% to insurances and5% to pension funds, this issue underlines the broad diversification of Telekom Austria Group’s investor base.”
Tschuden adds that the bond issue – Telekom Austria’s fifth – also strengthens the telco’s position as a “regular issuer on the international debt capital markets.”