Axis Bank raises $ 250 million via bonds

Axis Bank has priced a $250 million bond issue via a tap of its existing 3.2 per cent senior unsecured notes due 2020. The notes, issued in Reg-S format will be fungible with the existing 2020 maturity paper.

The notes are issued by Axis Bank’s DIFC branch, Dubai and are rated Baa2 by Moody's, BBB- by S&P and Fitch. The deal was launched at initial price guidance of US treasuries plus 150 basis points and attracted robust demand from investors with the books covered within an hour of announcement of transaction to the market.

The final orderbook was in excess of $ 1.25 billion with strong participation from Asia, Middle East and Europe. The notes have been issued at a price of 101.461 to yield 2.944 per cent.

The notes will be denominated in dollars, and will bear fixed interest of 3.250 per cent per annum, with interest payable semi-annually in arrears. Axis Bank will apply the net proceeds to meet the funding requirement of its foreign branches and for general corporate purposes. Bank of America Merill Lynch, Citibank, HSBC and Standard Chartered acted as joint book-runners and lead managers.