North Sea oil firm Taqa has hired five banks to arrange investor meetings ahead of a potential “benchmark” bond sale, according to the banks.
Benchmark-size offerings are typically worth at least £300million.
Middle East-based Taqa confirmed yesterday it had hired BNP Paribas, Citigroup, HSBC, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, and Standard Chartered to arrange investor roadshows in Asia, Europe and America.
Separate Taqa management teams will lead meetings in London and Hong Kong on Tuesday, with New York and Singapore lined up for Wednesday.
Taqa, in which the Abu Dhabi government owns a majority stake, declined to comment on specific details of the potential bond.
On Wednesday, the company said it was buying some of BP’s North Sea assets for up to £818million. North Sea subsidiary Taqa Bratani said the “transformational” deal had the potential to nearly double its UK reserves and boost daily production by 50%.
Taqa is a frequent bond issuer and familiar to international investors, in part due to its global profile.
At the end of the third quarter, it had a cash position of nearly £600million as well as £2.5billion worth of unused credit facilities.
It last tapped markets for a dollar-denominated issue in December last year, with a near-£1billion bond to refinance debt.
Taqa’s deal with BP is worth an initial £662million, with a further £156million dependent on oil price and production.
It is expected to complete in the middle of next year.
Taqa has been active in Europe since early 2007, when it took over the Dutch exploration and production facilities of BP and non-operated interests in UK North Sea Brae assets