KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 7): Yinson Azalea Production Pte Ltd, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Yinson Holdings Bhd (KL:YINSON), said it has officially priced US$1.46 billion (RM6.21 billion) in senior secured notes for its Agogo floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel.

This pricing marks an industry record as the largest-ever issuance size for an FPSO project bond, Yinson Production said in a statement.

The notes were priced at 98.16% of their principal amount with a fixed annual coupon of 6.52%, payable semi-annually. They carry a 13.3-year fully amortising maturity schedule and are scheduled for settlement on Oct 21, the statement read.

Yinson said it will use the proceeds from the offering to refinance existing debt related to the Agogo FPSO, fund required reserve accounts, cover transaction-related fees and distribute excess equity.

“We are very pleased with the strong support from institutional investors for this offering, which is our third FPSO project bond in three years and sets a new benchmark as the largest FPSO project bond to date,” said Yinson Production chief financial officer Markus Wenker.

The Agogo FPSO is a vessel that handles offshore hydrocarbon production and storage. It is currently leased to Angolan oil and gas producer Azule Energy Angola SpA. under a 15-year firm bareboat charter, with the option to extend the contract up to five years. 

Credit rating agencies Fitch and Moody’s assigned expected ratings of BBB+ and Baa2 to the notes, respectively, Yinson Production said.