(Bloomberg) -- Bulgaria is selling US dollar-denominated bonds for the first time in 22 years as it seeks to plug a budget deficit and repay maturing debt amid a protracted political crisis.
The country is offering long 12-year dollar securities, as well as euro notes due in eight and 20 years, in a deal that may price today, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. BNP Paribas SA, Citigroup Inc., ING Groep NV and UniCredit SpA are running the deal.
The Balkan country is preparing for an early election in October, the seventh such vote in three and a half years, as political parties have repeatedly failed to form a stable majority coalition. The interim government, appointed Tuesday, is looking to cover a €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion) bond maturing next week and finance the planned budget deficit of 3% of economic output.
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Initial pricing talk was around 165 basis points over midswaps for the 8-year euro-denominated bonds, 220 basis points over mid-swaps for the 20-year notes and 170 basis points over Treasuries for the 12-year dollar bonds, said the person, who asked not to be identified as they’re not authorized to speak publicly.
The government may sell a total of 10 billion lev ($5.7 billion) in new debt in the next four months, according to this year’s budget, after it already issued 1.7 billion lev on the domestic market. Two previous governments this year didn’t tap international markets.
--With assistance from Hannah Benjamin-Cook.
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