Returning to the senior dollar markets for the first time since 1999, the Aa3AA- rated credit launched a $500 million FRN late on Wednesday under the joint lead of Goldman Sachs and Nomura. The five-year issue successfully leveraged price tension between Europe and Asia to bring the deal in line with outstanding comparables and achieved a roughly even distribution split between the two regions.
With pricing at 99.904% on a coupon of 10bp over Libor, to yield 12bp over, the deal was syndicated on a retention basis, with about 55% of Goldman's book placed with Mainland accounts and about one third of Nomura's with Greater China accounts. This split reflected the fact that...
