TASTY SOLUTION

摘要

In a turbulent year for Thailand, CP Foods managed to bring a new structure to market, achieve aggressive terms and time the offering to perfection, raising US$290.4m from an exchangeable bond just three days before street protests brought issuance to a standstill. Structuring the deal as Thailand's first exchangeable bond allowed CP Foods to avoid the need for early disclosure and a shareholder vote required to issue a convertible bond, meaning the issuer was able to come to market far quicker. The company scored a coupon of just 0.5% and exchange premium of 30%, the highest on record for a Thai equity-linked deal, thanks to some innovative features that gave comfort to investors. The bond came with an irrevocable undertaking from sponsor Charoen Pokphand Foods to ensure that the issuer, a wholly owned subsidiary, had enough liquidity to meet its payments. This is equivalent to a keepwell deed on a corporate bond, and is thought to be the first time such an undertaking has been included in an equity-linked issue anywhere.