Cerved to break 4-year record with jumbo floating-rate notes offering

Cerved Group SpA is set to price the largest issue of floating-rate notes in euros in four years, according to LCD data. The decision by the Italian financial data provider to issue €1.05 billion of floating-rate bonds puts it in a group alongside only seven other issuers that have sold FRNs of €1 billion or larger, LCD data shows.

The last bond offering of this size sold in euros was for Italian payments group Nexi, which sold a €1.375 billion floating-rate bond alongside a €850 million fixed-rate bond to refinance its debt. The largest ever FRNs offering, meanwhile, is for Italian telecoms operator Wide Tre, which issued a €2.25 billion floating-rate bond as part of its recording-breaking €7.3 billion-equivalent 2017 refinancing exercise, according to LCD data.

Renewed focus on floating-rate bonds comes as borrowers seek to tap demand for assets that offer investors protection against rising rates. Italian borrowers, however, are regular issuers of floating-rate paper because legislation put in place in October 2012 that allows non-listed Italian firms to be eligible for a favorable withholding tax regime, making leverage loans less attractive for Italian names.

Cerved's €1.05 billion of seven-year (non-call one) floating-rate notes are on track to price today at E+525, with a 0% floor offered 99.5. The bonds will price alongside €350 million of seven-year (non-call three) fixed-rate notes at 6%.

J.P. Morgan is sole global coordinator on the deal, while Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and UniCredit are additional joint bookrunners. Proceeds will fund the buyout of the company by ION.