Seatrade, an international maritime industry publication, has awarded SCF Group one of its annual industry awards for 2016. SCF’s USD 750 million 7-year bond offering has been named as ‘Deal of the Year 2016’, Sovcomflot says in a press release.
This award recognises a significant business deal within the international maritime industry, supporting its growth and sustainability.
Nikolay Kolesnikov, Executive Vice President and CFO of SCF Group, commented during the award ceremony:
“We are very honoured to have received the Deal of the Year Award from Seatrade, a true authority in the industry. The fact that we raised a large amount of unsecured debt on very competitive terms demonstrates the confidence that investors have in SCF and reflects the strength of our business model and performance. We were especially honoured to receive this award on the eve of the Russian Merchant Seafarers’ Day. This award goes to the whole SCF team, and first and foremost to its seafarers out at sea standing watch on SCF vessels around the globe.”
This is the second time SCF Group has received a Seatrade Award, following the Seatrade Global Performer 2010 award granted in recognition of its pioneering work with Arctic icebreaking tanker operations.
SCF Group successfully completed a new USD 750 million 7-year Eurobond offering in June 2016, its first since 2010. The new bond offering generated strong demand from investors and enabled very competitive pricing, with a coupon of 5.375 per cent which matched the coupon on the Group’s debut 2010 Eurobond issue. In April 2017, SCF Group successfully re-opened these notes due 2023, increasing the issue size by USD 150 million, with pricing revised to a yield of 4.85 per cent.
The size of the bond offering is remarkable for an unsecured bond issue by a shipping company, especially at a time when many investors were reducing their shipping industry exposure. Significantly, over 60 per cent of the investors were from international rather than Russian institutions.
Earlier in 2017, Marine Money, an international maritime finance publication, recognised the same 2016 bond offering as the Institutional Debt Deal of the Year 2016.
PAO Sovcomflot (SCF Group) is one of the world's leading shipping companies, specialising in the transportation of crude oil, petroleum products, and liquefied gas, as well as servicing offshore upstream oil and gas installations and equipment. The Group’s fleet comprises 149 vessels with a total deadweight of over 13.1 million tonnes. The company is registered in St. Petersburg with offices in Moscow, Novorossiysk, Murmansk, Vladivostok, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, London, Limassol, and Dubai.
The Group offers a wide range of vessels in the market segments most demanded by major Russian oil and gas companies. With its own technical development and unique approach to advanced technologies, Sovcomflot can meet the most demanding customer requirements, providing effective transportation for oil & gas companies.