By Moses Ebosele, ebosele@hotmail.com —
Market leader in the supply of specialty fat and oils, Presco Plc has announced successful issuance of N34.5billion Series 1 seven-year Fixed Rate Bonds under its N50 billion Bond Issuance Programme.
Speaking on Tuesday at the signing ceremony held at the Company’s Obaretin Estate, Benin, Edo State, Managing Director of Presco Plc, Mr Felix Nwabuko commended institutional investor community for supporting the transaction.
According to the company, the Bond Issue was 247% subscribed and priced at a coupon rate of 12.85%.
This is Presco’s debut bond issuance in the Nigerian debt capital markets and the Bond Issue attracted participation from a wide range of investors including pension funds, asset managers, insurance companies, banks and high net worth individuals.
Presco sought out to raise N30billion but the order book closed at N74billion, so the Company elected to issue an additional 15% to investors thus raising a total of N34.5 billion.
Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited acted as Lead Issuing House to the Bond Issue, while CardinalStone Partners Limited and Quantum Zenith Capital and Investments Limited acted as Joint Issuing Houses to the Bond Issue.
Explaining further, Nwabuko said:“We are pleased by the success of our debut Bond Issue and grateful to our institutional investor community for supporting the transaction.
“This is a landmark transaction for Presco and it has broadened our sources of long term funding.
“The success of this transaction evidences the resilience of our business, its strong cash generation and a long term future with enormous potential for sustainable growth, in a pivotal sector for the country’s agri-food promotion strategy, made possible by our market-leading position in Nigeria, Africa’s largest market for palm oil products. This is supported by our A+ rating by Agusto & Co and A- rating from GCR.”
Also speaking at the event, Funso Akere, Chief Executive of Stanbic IBTC Capital, said:
“Stanbic IBTC Capital, CardinalStone Partners and Quantum Zenith Capital are delighted to have advised Presco on its debut issuance in the Nigerian debt capital markets.
“We thank the institutional investor community for supporting the Issue, as its success should encourage other similar companies to access the domestic debt capital markets for their strategic funding needs.
“We also thank the Board and management of Presco for giving the Issuing Houses a free hand to guide the process.
“Stanbic IBTC Capital is especially delighted to have worked on this landmark issuance, having handled Presco’s Initial Public Offering and listing on Nigerian Exchange Limited two decades ago.”
Managing Director/Chief Chief Exective Officer, Quantum Zenith Capital, Kennedy Ichibor and Michael Nzewi of Cardinal Stone who also spoke at the event, commended Presco Plc for creating conducive atmosphere for the transaction and for keeping the company on the path of growth over the years.
Meanwhile, the Bonds will be listed on Nigerian Exchange Limited and FMDQ Securities Exchange.
