Cimpor sells debut Euro600m bonds

Portuguese cement company Cimpor - Cimentos de Portugal SGPS SA saw strong demand for a 600 million euro seven-year bond on Wednesday, its debut in the corporate bond market.  Issuance in the investment-grade market has been thin on the ground in recent months, as many companies raised funds last year. But investors have cash to put to work as last year’s good performance has led to strong interest in the asset class.  Cimpor was able to increase its deal to 600 million euros from an initial 400 million and price at a tighter spread versus swaps than initally expected.  "We had a book of 2.5 billion after one day of bookbuilding," said a syndicate official at one of the banks managing the sale.

"We managed to increase the deal because of demand, and we could have done a bigger trade," he said. But the company did not need more than 600 million euros for refinancing purposes, the official said.  New issuers have gained a particularly warm reception in the bond market as investors seek to diversify their portfolios, and Cimpor was no exception. "People always welcome diversification and new names," the banker said.