9 December 2014, "Ardshinbank" CJSC ("Ardshinbank") raised USD 75 million from the international capital markets through a Reg S only senior unsecured private placement.
The press service of the bank reports that the transaction marks the inaugural note offering for Ardshinbank and represents the first offering of its kind from any private sector entity in the Republic of Armenia, successfully following the sovereign's own inaugural benchmark bond transaction in late 2013.
Ardshinbank made the amortising 3 year LPN (Loan Participatory Note) placement with the help of J.P. Morgan Securities plc., which acted as the sole-lead manager for the transaction.
Moody's provisionally rated the issuance Ba2 with stable outlook. The notes are listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange and clear through Euroclear and Clearstream. The proceeds of the offering will be used to support Ardshinbank's planned expansion strategy, one of its main corporate goals.
Ardshinbank's management was very pleased with the final results of this inaugural bond issue and the level of interest from the international investor community. On this occasion, Mr. Mher Grigoryan, the CEO of Ardshinbank noted - "We are proud that Ardshinbank is the first non-sovereign in Armenia to have placed bonds in the international capital markets. This is a remarkable step not only for our bank, but also for our country, as this issuance helps put Armenian private sector on the map of international financial markets".
Established in 2002, Ardshinbak is one of the leading banks in Armenia. It has a large distribution network with over 55 branches all over the country and a strong Corporate, SME and Retail customer base. It has a Ba3 rating with Stable Outlook from Moody's. In the beginning of 2014, Ardshinbank has also raised USD 18 million in a syndicated loan, becoming the first bank in Armenia to have closed such a transaction without multilateral agency support.