ARMENIA, BULGARIA RACE TO SELL BONDS

Capital, Greece
March 19 2015

By Ben Edwards

Armenia and Bulgaria are racing to sell bonds Thursday as the global
hunt for yield continues to boost the appeal of lower-rated debt.

Junk-rated Armenia is seeking to issue a 10-year dollar bond, its
second on record, with bankers working on the deal suggesting a yield
in the area of 7.625%.

Bulgaria, meanwhile, is seeking to issue three lots of euro bonds
maturing in seven, 12 and 20 years. Bankers are marketing those bonds
at implied yields of roughly 2.3%, 2.9% and 3.4% respectively.

The latter deal follows a wave of longer-dated bonds sold in euros
after Italy and Slovenia this week issued debt that won’t mature
until 2032 and 2035.

Armenia’s proposed deal follows a week of sales pitches to investors
in London and the U.S., as it seeks to raise cash partly to buy back
about $200 million of its existing bonds.

Deutsche Bank, HSBC and J.P. Morgan are the banks managing Armenia’s
bond sale.

Citigroup, HSBC, Societe Generale and UniCredit are managing Bulgaria’s
sale.