Noble Group Said to Plan Sale of Bonds in U.S. Dollars as Soon as Today

Noble Group Ltd., the commodities supplier backed by China’s sovereign wealth fund, plans to sell five- and 10-year bonds denominated in U.S. dollars as soon as today, according to a person familiar with the matter.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is managing the two-part benchmark sale, said the person, who asked not to be identified because details are private. Benchmark typically means at least $500 million. The company has the right to buy the 10-year bonds back after five years, according to the person.

The proceeds from the senior note sale will be used for general corporate purposes, Noble said in a statement today to the Singapore stock exchange, without providing further details. The company requested a trading halt for its shares in Singapore pending an announcement, according to an earlier release today.

Noble last sold bonds denominated in U.S. dollars in October when it raised $1.25 billion of 10-year notes, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The extra yield investors demanded to hold the 6.75 percent bonds rather than U.S. Treasuries jumped 28 basis points today to 370 basis points, the biggest increase since May 25, according to BNP Paribas prices. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.

Moody’s Investors Service is expected to rank the new debt at Baa3, its lowest investment-grade rating. Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings will grade the debt an equivalent BBB-, according to the person.

Noble stock has fallen 20 percent this year. Its shares fell 2.33 percent to S$1.68 as of 11:40 a.m. in Singapore today. The shares more than tripled last year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Shelley Smith in Hong Kong at ssmith118@bloomberg.net

• Tweet
• More
  • Business Exchange
  • Buzz up!
  • Digg
• Print
• Email