Ecobank appoints transaction advisers for $400 mln convertible bond issuance

The Pan-African banking group, Ecobank Transnational Incorporation (ETI) has appointed transactions advisers to help midwife its proposed issuance of $400 million convertible bonds, the bank said on Thursday.
In a letter to the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Thursday, the bank said to the process leading to the bond issuance is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
"Subject to the necessary legal and regulatory authorisation, the convertible bond will be listed on the International Securities Market (ISM) of the London Stock Exchange by end 2017," ETI said in the statement.
The bank also said it will make available the terms of the transaction to shareholders in due course.
Shareholders of the bank gave their approval for the plan to issue the convertible bond at a meeting in June in a bid to strengthen its capital base.
The bond is expected to have a maturity of five years and a coupon of 6.46 percent above the three-month LIBOR rate.
Investors are allowed the option to convert their holdings at an exercise price of six United States cents during the conversion period.
According to sources within the bank, the bond was to help mitigate the impact of its legacy loan.