One of the world's largest exporters of sunflower oil is poised to become the first Ukrainian corporate to issue a bond since 2013. Kernel Holdings, an agribusiness headquartered in Ukraine and with a listing on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, has hired ING and J.P. Morgan to arrange investor meetings in Europe and the US from Thursday ahead of a potential debut five-year US dollar deal. The company is likely to offer a healthy yield to entice investors, although a source familiar with the deal said it was too early to speculate what sort of level would be needed.
With 95% of its Ebitda and revenues in hard currency and kept offshore, Kernel is rated above the sovereign - two notches by Fitch, at B+, and one notch by Standard & Poor's, at B. Ukraine has a Sep 2022 bond trading at 8.11%, according to Thomson Reuters data.