Cathay Pacific raises $650m in first US dollar bond in 25 years

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific has raised $650m in its first US dollar bond in 25 years, a term sheet seen by Reuters showed on Monday. The deal consisted of 5.25-year senior unsecured notes priced at 4.875%, the term sheet showed. The final pricing was 32.5 basis points cheaper than indicated by the deal's book runners when launched earlier in Asia on Monday. Cathay did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The airline will use the proceeds to bolster its working capital levels and fund general corporate purposes, the term sheet said. A US dollar bond will be the pandemic-hit carrier's first since 1996 as it primarily has issued its debt in Hong Kong dollars. Cathay issued HK$6.74b ($869.51m) of convertible bonds in Hong Kong dollars in January to shore up liquidity, prompting its shares to record their worst daily decline in more than 12 years.<br/>