Dublin-based SMBC confirmed that it had closed the sale of $500 million in seven-year unsecured bonds repayable at 2.3 per cent. The placement, at US Treasury rates plus 1.1 per cent, represented the lowest credit spread ever achieved in a bond issue by the company. The firm will use the cash raised for general purposes, possibly including buying aircraft and repaying existing debt.
International credit ratings agencies S&P and Fitch recently confirmed SMBC’s investment grade A rating. The bond sale a “strong endorsement” of the company’s strength. Airline customers now increasingly focus on the recovery and the pent-up demand for travel, we are positioned to capitalise on what will be a period of substantial change and opportunity ahead for the wider sector.