Bahrain’s Mumtalakat Said To Raise $600 Million From Sukuk

Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Co., the Gulf country’s sovereign wealth fund, raised $600 million from the sale of Islamic bonds, according to a person familiar with the deal, as it seeks funds to refinance debt.

The seven-year sukuk will be priced to yield 205 basis points, or 2.05 percentage points, over the benchmark midswap rate, said the person, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The price Mumtalakat paid fell from initial guidance of about 237.5 basis points above midswaps as demand increased, the person said.

Mumtalakat last issued dollar debt in June 2010, when it raised $750 million from the sale of five-year notes that were priced at a spread of 300 basis points over the midswap rate, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It sold Malaysian ringgit bonds in 2012 and 2013 that raised a combined $134 million. It has about $1.1 billion of debt due next year, Bloomberg data show.

Mumtalakat owns stakes in some of the country’s largest companies, including Gulf Air, Aluminum Bahrain BSC, National Bank of Bahrain BSC, and the Bahrain International Circuit, which hosts a Formula 1 Grand Prix.

Originally published on www.bloomberg.com