NAVER Becomes the First Global IT Company to Issue a Samurai Bond
NAVER Becomes the First Global IT Company to Issue a Samurai Bond
NAVER Becomes the First Global IT Company to Issue a Samurai Bond
- Successfully issued a total of 20 billion yen following the Korean government's Samurai Bond in September
- The first domestic issuance with an average maturity of more than 5 years and an average interest rate of 1%, including the first 12-year long-term issue.
October 26, 2023
NAVER announced on October 26 that it became the world's first IT company to successfully issue its debut Samurai Bond.
NAVER's debut Samurai Bonds totaled JPY 20 billion, spread across four maturities: 3.5-year JPY 14 billion, 5-year JPY 1.5 billion, 7-year JPY 1.5 billion, and 12-year JPY 3 billion. The issuance rates were determined based on the Yen TONA rate (the benchmark rate) for each period, with an additional spread of 70 bps for 3.5 years, 82 bps for 5 years, 93 bps for 7 years, and 120 bps for 12 years.
This marks the first debut Samurai Bond in over seven years issued by a Korean private company without a guarantee since 2016. Notably, the 12-year tranche represents the first long-term issuance by a Korean issuer to exceed 10 years. It's the first instance in the world where a global IT company has issued a Samurai Bond to Japanese bond investors. NAVER's ability to issue long-term bonds with an average maturity of more than five years underscores the sustainability of its business.
This is NAVER's second overseas issuance, following its debut in the U.S. dollar-denominated bond market in March 2021, with a US$500 million and a US$300 million tranche. As a co-controlling shareholder of Line Yahoo (formerly known as Z Holdings), Japan's largest internet company with the country's No. 1 global messenger Line, NAVER opted to issue Samurai Bonds to diversify its financing market while continuing its business expansion in Japan.
Namsun Kim, CFO of NAVER, stated, "The debut issuance of the Samurai Bond confirms the Japanese bond market's confidence in NAVER. It enables us to diversify our creditor base and expand our access to global capital markets, strengthening our ability to secure stable liquidity for our long-term growth."
The NAVER Samurai Bonds were issued in a public offering registered with the Japanese Ministry of Finance and are expected to be rated A3 by Moody's and A- by S&P. Mizuho and Citi served as joint book-running managers. The issuance was highly successful, with demand significantly exceeding the issuance amount, and leading Japanese insurance and financial companies participated.
