In a year defined by the beginnings of a more sustainable Asian high-yield debt market, it is perhaps only fitting that what is likely to be the final deal of 2005 should come from one of Asia's lowest rated deals ever - a $250 million offering by B- rated pulp and paper producer Advance Agro. From the beginning, the ABN AMRO and Deutsche Bank led deal was considered a difficult sell given the recent volatility in the high-yield market and a spate of pulled deals.
In order to compete with a domestic bank facility offered to Advanced Agro by its creditors, the leads opted to introduce a call option into the...