LONDON—The Greek government on Thursday asked banks to plan a much-awaited 10-year bond issue in hopes of raising between €3 billion and €5 billion ($4.11 billion to $6.85 billion) to help cover short-term funding gaps.
The step was timed to coincide with an improving market for Greek government debt in the wake of tough budget cuts announced a day earlier.
Lead managers are Barclays Capital, HSBC Holdings, National Bank of Greece, Nomura and Piraeus Bank SA, one of the lead managers on the deal said.
Adjusted price guidance for the new issue is now 3.00 percentage points over the benchmark risk-free mid-swaps rate, reflecting the market's demand for a premium.
The bond sale has attracted €14 billion in bids, and will close soon, the head of the country's debt management agency said Thursday. "The bond offering is going very well, beyond expectations," said Petros Christodoulou, head of Greece's debt-management agency.
An issue size of €5 billion for Greece's new 10-year bond "would be a good result" but not enough to fully cover Greece's near-term funding needs, said UniCredit strategist Luca Cazzulani.wsj.com link
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