Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch have been chosen to lead manage a $300 million to $400 million 10 year bond offering with a euro-144a format. The mandate represents a major breakthrough for both banks, but particularly Merrill Lynch, which has been trying to break into Malaysia for some time.
For many market participants, Merrill's selection also marks an extremely luck breakthrough since it was widely believed that Telekom's house bank JP Morgan would lead any potential bond deal. The latter is since thought to have been conflicted out, however, by an MA transaction. Indeed, for Merrill Lynch, the deal represents its first major mandate in a country where Credit Suisse...