SATS : S58 0% on Wednesday (Jan 17) priced US$500 million in fixed-rate senior unsecured notes due Jan 23, 2029, at 4.828 per cent.

The inaugural notes are the first to be issued under the in-flight caterer and ground handler’s US$3 billion multicurrency debt issuance programme established in November 2023. The notes have been “very well received” by global investors and were 3.6 times subscribed, said Sats chief financial officer Manfred Seah.

The group expects to issue the notes on Jan 23, 2024. Proceeds will be used to refinance part of the group’s existing one billion euro (S$1.5 billion) bridge loans maturing in May.

The notes will be immediately converted into euros via a cross-currency swap to achieve a fixed rate of 3.498 per cent per annum to match the currency of the existing bridge loans, helping to hedge Sats’ foreign currency exposure.

The group expects the refinancing exercise to result in an “all-in” interest saving of around S$8.8 million. “The purpose of the debut issuance is primarily aimed at accessing a broader investor base and spreading our debt maturity profile while lowering the group’s overall cost of borrowing,” Seah added.

Moody’s Investors Service assigned a senior unsecured rating of A3 to the notes and a (P)A3 rating to the debt issuance programme. These ratings mirror Sats’ issuer rating of A3 with a stable outlook.

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BNP Paribas, DBS, MUFG Securities EMEA, OCBC and HSBC’s Singapore branch are the joint lead managers and joint bookrunners for the issuance.

Shares of Sats closed Tuesday 1.4 per cent or S$0.04 lower at S$2.89.