Swiss trader and charterer Trafigura has topped up its finances with an over-subscribed $300m notes sale.
The shipowner's Trafigura Securitisation Finance (TSF) unit said it had placed the debt in the US asset-backed securities (ABS) market.
This is Trafigura’s sixth public asset-backed transaction since the inception of the programme in 2004.
TSF has since become the largest AAA/Aaa-rated seller of securities backed by trade receivables.
Investors are offered a "blended portfolio" of short-term credit exposure to oil majors, non-ferrous metals and minerals purchasers, as well as banks.
The notes mature over three years. A $139.5m slice carries interest of one-month Libor plus 53 basis points (bps).
Another $139.5m tranche is priced at the mid-swap rate, ie the midway point between bids and offers, plus 55 bps, with $21m priced at mid-swap plus 125 bps.
"The transaction was well received with participation from a total of 16 investors in the fixed and floating rate tranches," Trafigura said.
Group treasurer Laurent Christophe said the deal demonstrates not only the attractiveness of trade receivables as an underlying asset class that is rarely offered in public markets, but also the quality of the structure.
Strong performance
"Investors were mindful of the strong performance of the programme during the Covid-19 pandemic, proving once again its resilience," Christophe added.
The company said it is committed to the ABS market and will continue to issue new series on a regular basis.
"We also plan to bring more diverse offerings originated by Trafigura to the ABS market such as our inventory securitisation programme," the treasurer added.
SMBC, Citi and Societe Generale acted as joint lead managers, with Natixis, Mizuho and MUFG as co-managers.
In April, Trafigura claimed a record with a $203.5m sustainability-linked finance deal in the US.
It said the combined five, seven and 10-year loan tranches constitute the biggest on record in the US private placement market.
This was the commodities trader's first sustainability-linked deal in the US capital markets, but its sixth overall.
The financing replaced a $98m private placement maturing this year.
The sale was upsized from $100m due to strong investor demand, Trafigura said.
More than half the total was sold as 10-year debt.
The loans include key performance indicators designed to incentivise the company to meet ambitious targets related to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
