Deals of the year - Top quality issuers succeed in demanding markets
Hutchison Whampoa likes historic moments. In 1997 the Hong Kong conglomerate made its debut on the Eurobond market with a $2 billion four-tranche transaction, less than a month after the territory's sovereignty was returned to the People's Republic of China. It was the largest corporate bond from a non-US company in any currency and the largest Asian 144a eligible deal.
This year Hutchison struck again just two months after the introduction of the euro with its first deal denominated in the new currency: a blowout €500 million ($529 million), which is still the largest Asian transaction in the new currency.
Ironically, it might never have happened. The company was planning to do a yankee issue. It had mandated Goldman Sachs to test investor sentiment and put its 144a documentation in place. But despite Hutchison's highly successful HK$1.5...
