(For the latest Australia and New Zealand bond news, double
click on [AU/CRD] and then double click on the ID number)
(For the latest Australia and New Zealand bond news, double
click on [AU/CRD] and then double click on the ID number)
SYDNEY, March 14 (Reuters) - Boral Ltd (BLD.AX),
Australia's largest building materials maker, has raised $380
million of bonds in the U.S. traditional private placement
market, a market source said on Friday.
JPMorgan arranged the offer. Boral and JPMorgan were not
immediately available to comment.
The bond placement offered two tranches: $306 million of
10-year bonds at 350 basis points over 10-year US Treasury and
$74 million of 12-year bonds at 360 bps over 10-year US
Treasury.
Typical buyers of U.S. traditional private placements are
"buy and hold" U.S. insurance companies keen on long-dated
paper to match their assets.
They require a rating from the National Association of
Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) which has its own grid ranging
from NAIC-1 for the best credit to NAIC-6, the lowest.
Boral, rated BBB+ by S&P and Baa1 by Moody's, is an NAIC-2
credit.
It has already sold two placements in the U.S., a $400
million issue in 2005 with JPMorgan and a $300 million issue in
2002 with joint agents JPMorgan and Merrill Lynch.
In February, Boral reported a 10 percent fall in first-half
profit on weak U.S. housing markets, but beat market forecasts.
The U.S. private placement market has been a popular source
of funds for Australian companies looking for long-dated debt.
In 2007, nine Australian firms sold bonds there, raising $3.2
billion, making Australian firms the fourth-largest issuers in
the market. See [ID:nSP147917].
Australian engineering services firm WorleyParsons Ltd
(WOR.AX), Sonic Healthcare Ltd (SHL.AX) and New Zealand's South
Canterbury Finance have all flagged their intention to raise
debt in the U.S. private bond market.
(Reporting by Cecile Lefort)
