A.P. Moller-Maersk postpones bond sale
Maersk Line parent A.P. Moller-Maersk postponed a planned bond issue worth up to $1.44 billion because of poor market conditions, analysts told Reuters on Wednesday.
Maersk said last month that Barclays Capital, ING, JPMorgan Chase, Mitsubishi and Nordea would start a roadshow on May 31, but that it had not made a final decision on whether to go ahead with the bond.
Analysts told Reuters on Wednesday the issue has probably been postponed for weeks.
"I estimate it is solely because of the market conditions and that they have postponed the issue," said Jyske Bank corporate bond analyst Martin Bo Hansen. "We have seen a sour market since they took the decision to look into this in May."
The group was looking to issue a 10-year bond, as its two previous issues were five-year and seven-year paper, a source close to the matter said last month.
Sydbank senior corporate bond dealer Henrik Jordt Veno said the postponement was likely to be more than a matter of days.
"The corporate bond market is feeling very bad right now due to the Greek debt crisis and continued bad ratings from the ratings agencies affecting markets," Veno said.
In December 2009 Maersk raised approximately $704 million in two separate bond issues, just weeks after it first tapped the corporate bond market. The issue was only the second time the Copenhagen-based company has raised money on the bond market, following a $1.15 billion issue in October.
