Thursday, Nov 24, 2011
(This item was originally published Wednesday.)
--IPIC pays off two $3.75 billion loans early
--Uses proceeds from recent triple-tranche bond issue to make payment
--Says move signals prudent liability management
Oliver Klaus
Of ZAWYA DOW JONES
DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--International Petroleum Investment Co., or IPIC, the Abu Dhabi government investment firm, repaid two loans worth a combined $3.75 billion ahead of maturity, using the proceeds from a recent bond issue, saying the move signalled prudent liability management.
IPIC, in an emailed statement Wednesday, said on Nov. 21 it had "pre-paid two facilities taken in 2010 amounting to $3.75 billion, well in advance of their respective 2013 maturities. IPIC recently issued $3.75 billion in notes from the debt capital markets, which it stated it would use to refinance debt."
The Abu Dhabi firm, which invests in the wider energy sector on behalf of the government, in late October issued a triple-tranche U.S. dollar bond, comprising two tranches worth $1.5 billion each with maturities of 5.5 and 10.5 years, and a $750 million tranche with a 30-year maturity. Moody's Investors Service has assigned 'Aa3' ratings to the notes.
"Our issuance and subsequent prepayments of our facilities clearly demonstrate that IPIC is prudently managing its liabilities," IPIC Managing Director Khadem Al Qubaisi said in the statement. "Our actions reinforce Abu Dhabi's credit strength both from a current and a future, 30 year, perspective."
IPIC, set up in 1984, posted a first-half profit of $1.2 billion and had assets to the tune of $62 billion at the end of June, according to the firm's website. IPIC's investment portfolio includes Austrian oil and gas firm OMV AG (OMV.VI), Energias de Portugal and Spain's Cepsa among others.
-By Oliver Klaus, Dow Jones Newswires; +9714 446-1693; oliver.klaus@dowjones.com
Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Co.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
24-11-11 0346GMT
