SINGAPORE – Investor demand has surged for the latest Astrea private equity (PE) bonds, with total subscriptions surpassing $3.4 billion across all three classes – 3.4 times the US$780 million (S$1 billion) issued under the public and placement tranches.
Fund manager Azalea Investment Management, which offered the Astrea 9 bonds, said on Aug 7 that it was its largest retail order book to date, underscoring strong investor confidence in the platform’s track record and credit quality.
Public offers for Class A-1 and Class A-2 bonds alone drew more than $1.5 billion in valid applications – 3.5 times the combined $380 million and US$50 million offered.
To meet growing demand from individual investors, Azalea increased the retail tranche for Astrea 9 by 37 per cent compared with the previous issuance, Astrea 8.
For the Singapore dollar-denominated Class A-1 bonds, Azalea received $1.2 billion in valid applications from 34,969 applicants, with more than 82 per cent of the bonds allocated to those who applied for $50,000 or less.
The US dollar-denominated Class A-2 bonds saw US$280 million in valid applications from 12,592 applicants, with close to 80 per cent going to those who applied for US$50,000 or less.
“We are truly heartened by the overwhelming response to the Astrea 9 public offers, which resulted in the largest retail order book we have seen to date,” said Mr Chue En Yaw, chief executive and chief investment officer of Azalea.
“With the expanded size of the public offers, our aim was to meet growing retail demand for Astrea PE Bonds – and we are encouraged by the strong participation from investors.”
Azalea, an indirect subsidiary of Temasek, also stepped up investor outreach with explainer videos, seminars and a hybrid session on Aug 4 to help retail investors understand the offering. More retail engagement is planned through its annual Astrea Investor Day.
The bonds will begin trading on the Singapore Exchange at 9am on Aug 11.
THE BUSINESS TIMES