South Korea’s LG Electronics has raised $800 million through a dollar bond deal, according to a term sheet.
A 3-year bond raised $500 million and a 5-year sustainable bond $300 million, the term sheet showed. LG Electronics confirmed the transaction and said it was the first public foreign bond market deal the company had carried out in 12 years.
The 3-year bond is priced at 3-year Treasuries plus 95 basis points. The 5-year price was 5-year Treasuries plus 110 basis points. Initial price guidance to potential investors for the 3-year bond was 135 basis points over 3-year Treasuries, and for the 5-year bond, it was 150 basis points over 5-year Treasuries.
There was $3.2 billion in demand for the shorter dated bond, while the order book for the 5-year bond reached $4 billion, a message sent by one of the deal’s book runners showed. Asian investors bought most of the tranches, ahead of European and U.S. investors, the message said.
South Korean companies made a record start to the year in terms of dollar bond issuance as they looked to diversify funding, finding ready demand from investors while China’s bond market remains dormant.
LG Electronics is one of the largest home appliance and TV makers in the world. The company intends to use the cash raised from the 3-year bond for general operations, including investment, and refinancing maturing debt, the term sheet showed.
The 5-year bond is a sustainable bond and proceeds will be spent on green and social projects. LG Electronics said last year it plans to become a global top 10 company in vehicle components by more than doubling revenue to 20 trillion won ($14.53 billion) by 2030.
It also plans to strengthen service platforms on its home appliance and TV businesses that generate recurring profits, such as from media subscriptions and rentals.
