BMW Investment Deal of the Week

The first week of 2012 was an important one for BMW, as the offered two oversubscribed debt issues. The sale of €2.5 billion of debt on January 4 was their largest corporate offering since March 2010. The debt was divided into two tranches: three-year notes paying 2.125 percent and seven-year notes with a coupon of 3.250 percent. Part of the money will be used to ensure that production of car parts, such as BMW E30 parts, will continue uninterrupted. Most of the proceeds will be used in anticipation of funding requirements.

The five deal underwriters were Credit Suisse, Barclays Capital, Goldman Sachs, Royal Bank of Scotland and Societe Generale. It was a good time for BMW to make the offering, since it was relatively quiet in the European debt markets that week. The mood of the market seemed positive and many investors were flush with cash for new issuances. Any quiet period in the Eurozone corporate bond market is seen as a temporary respite until volatility returns. That's because the Eurozone is still vulnerable to shocks as various governments fend off bankruptcy.

The bonds were oversubscribed because high-end German car manufacturers with solid ratings are in high demand right now. VW and Daimler are other names in the industry segment that enjoys wide popularity, due to their strong sales and high credit ratings. As a matter of fact, the three-year tranche was triply oversubscribed, while the seven-year notes were oversubscribed by a ratio of 2.5 to one.

Retail investors loved the three-year bonds because it allowed them to pick up a higher interest rate than that afforded by the low-yielding banking system. Because of the high demand, BMW was able to pay a much lower premium than that paid by Peugeot for a similar deal a week earlier. In December, BMW sales outpaced those of Mercedes-Benz. Orders for BMW E32 parts were especially strong. In 2011, BMW sold over 247 thousand cars and SUVs under the BMW name, an increase over 2010 of 12.6 percent. Many of the individuals working in the bond market drive BMW luxury cars, so much of the interest is based on the favorable perception of the product as well as the company financials. BMW forecasts strong sales for all of 2012, especially in the North American market, which is less roiled by the Eurozone economic crisis.



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