Western Europe
Best sovereign bond issue
United Kingdom
Deal size: $3 billion
Date: June 2003
Joint bookrunners: Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley
The UK Treasury last entered the offshore capital markets in 1996. However, last year careful monitoring of the markets showed that there was a window to refinance foreign currency reserves more cheaply in the international markets than through gilts.
The Bank of England sought advice from lead managers with a good record. "There is a relatively small group of banks who really specialize in the sovereign/supranational sector, particularly in US dollars," says Christopher Egerton-Warburton, executive director at Goldman Sachs. "The Bank of England did a lot of preparation internally to find a team that they thought would be complementary. They wanted a group of banks who they felt had the strongest distribution capabilities and would work in a cooperative way."
In June 2003 the $3 billion five-year 144A Eurobond...
