Best sukuk deal:
Emirates RegS $1 billion amortizing sukuk
Lead managers: Citi, ADIB, Standard Chartered Bank
Dubai’s airline has been busy in the capital markets over the past 12 months, following a $750 million 144a/RegS amortizing bond in January 2013 with a $1 billion 10-year RegS senior unsecured sukuk in March.
It’s the amortizing bit that stands out: something that has never been attempted in a sukuk in the international markets before. At a more technical level, it is also the first ever wakala sukuk to be issued based on rights to travel and services relating to passenger routes. It works like this: Emirates sells rights and services to a special-purpose vehicle out of its total available capacity. The SPV then appoints Emirates as its service agent to sell passenger tickets corresponding to those rights to travel.
The deal was roadshowed globally and eventually brought in 129 investor accounts for a three-time oversubscription. It priced during marketing and ended up yielding a profit rate of 3.875% a year, making economic funding even as the airline diversified its funding sources both by structure and geography.