backed Pearl Petroleum raises $500mln via senior secured bond
By Staff Writer
The UAE-backed Pearl Petroleum has raised $500 million in debt through a senior secured bond issuance, priced at par with a 10.375% coupon, paid semi-annually.
The five-year bond, which is non-callable for 2.5-years, carries a make-whole until first call date at 30 months. It is thereafter callable at 105.188 / 104.150 / 103.113 / 101.038 / 100.519% of par after 30/36/42/48/54 months, respectively and at par after 57 months until the maturity date.
The bond has been secured on a pari passu basis with the claims of the other secured parties, namely the lenders under existing loan facilities including the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the Bank of Sharjah, and Commercial Bank International.
A settlement date of November 9, 2026 will follow, with a maturity of 2031.
A listing is expected on Euronext ABM within six months following the issue date.
DNB Carnegie and Pareto Securities are the mandated joint lead managers, with the latter also listed as the billing and delivery bank.
Pearl Petroleum was founded in 2009 as a consortium with the Sharjah-based firms Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum as joint operators. The company is a leading gas producer in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).
Net proceeds from the bond issue will be used to refinance the company’s existing PPCL01 PRO $350 million senior secured bonds, fund a Debt Service Reserve Account, finance capex relating to the development of the Khor Mor and Chemchemal gas fields in KRI, and general corporate purposes.
(Writing by Bindu Rai, editing by Seban Scaria)