The pricing of the World Bank's new $1.5 billion global bond offering, a 10-year issue launched yesterday simultaneously in the Euromarkets and the Far Eastern and North American markets, was announced this morning. The bonds are denominated in U.S. dollars and have a 6-3/4 percent coupon, payable semiannually. They were offered at 99.071 percent, to yield 6.88 percent, for a spread of 15 basis points over the 10-year Treasury benchmark.
There has been strong international demand for the issue, with three-quarters of it placed in the Far East and Europe. The U.S. domestic market will account for about $400 million of the bonds, with $250 million being distributed by a group of regional dealers in the U.S. "The robust participation of all market centers demonstrates a full appreciation of both the global bond instrument and the World Bank's superior credit," stated Donald C. Roth, the Bank's Vice President & Treasurer. "At 15 basis points over the Treasury benchmark, this is the tightest spread the Bank has ever achieved in the U.S. dollar market at this maturity."
"The success of this issue," Roth said," largely reflects the outstanding contributions of our joint lead managers and each member of our management group." The group for this issue consisted of: Deutsche Bank Capital Markets Limited and Merrill Lynch & Co., serving as joint book running lead managers, and Credit Suisse First Boston Limited, Daiwa Securities Co. Ltd., Goldman, Sachs & Co., IBJ International Limited, J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., Lehman Brothers, Salomon Brothers Inc., S.G. Warburg Securities, UBS Phillips & Drew Securities Limited, and Yamaichi Securities Co. Ltd.
