Moscow — Russia’s natural gas giant Gazprom plans to issue eight-year Eurobonds denominated in U.S. dollars, IFR, the financial markets analytical service run by Refinitiv, said on Tuesday.
The debt issue, to be of a benchmark size – or no less than $500 million – comes at a time when Gazprom’s flagship gas pipeline project, Nord Stream 2 from Russia to Germany, is under fresh sanctions risk pressure from the United States.
IFR said that Gazprombank and J.P. Morgan are arranging the issue as joint global coordinators and bookrunners, while IMI-Intesa Sanpaolo, SMBC Nikko and VTB Capital act as joint lead managers and bookrunners.
Alexei Finikov, deputy head of Gazprom’s finances and economy department, said the company might also consider Swiss franc bond placements and perpetual bonds this year, according to Interfax news agency.
“It’s possible we do it again… and will issue perpetual bonds denominated in U.S. dollars and euros,” Interfax quoted Finikov as saying on a conference call with investors.
“Maybe, we will look at the currencies in which we have not issued for a long time, for example, Swiss francs,” he said.
Gazprom’s borrowing plan for 2021 stands at 511.626 billion roubles ($7 billion). It issued perpetual bonds last year.
The company acknowledged in the related Eurobond prospectus, seen by Reuters on Tuesday, that there are risks that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project may be suspended or scrapped amid political pressure.
Should the $11-billion project be suspended or cancelled, Gazprom may face financial claims from contractors, it said in the prospectus.
(Reporting by Maria Kiselyova, Katya Golubkova and Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Susan Fenton)
