Azerbaijan gears up for debut

摘要

Azerbaijan is poised to reopen the CEEMEA primary market with a debut Eurobond offering, as worries about a potential war between Ukraine and Russia recede. The sovereign could open books on the deal as early as Monday and if interest in the roadshow is anything to go by, the issue could prove to be a big success. Azerbaijan, rated Baa3/BBB-/BBB-, is looking to raise US$1bn through the issue, which will have a maturity of 10 years, aiming to price the deal some 100bp inside state-owned oil company Socar, an investor who met with the sovereign told IFR. "It seems like a pretty good story. It is very difficult to poke holes in it," he said. As a point of comparison, Russia's 2022s trade roughly 110bp inside Gazprom's from both a yield and spread perspective.