Slovenia Returns to Market With East Europe’s Longest Bond

(Bloomberg) -- Slovenia has returned to the European debt market after less than a month, this time with a pioneering 60-year bond.

The ex-Yugoslav eurozone member is set to price 500 million euros ($606 million) of notes due March 2081 at 75 basis points above midswaps, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because of a lack of authorization to speak publicly. The transaction is being arranged by BNP Paribas SA, Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and HSBC Holdings plc, the person said.

The deal adds to a flurry of Europe’s syndicated public-sector deals, which has reached a monthly record of 124 billion euros even without today’s offerings that also include Austria and Greece. The Alpine nation has been part of the deluge already: it was among the first sovereigns to offer bonds this year, coming to market on Jan. 5 with a new 10-year bond and a tap of notes due 2050.

The country of 2.1 million people is lagging most European Union peers in handling the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, which is putting pressure on the government of Janez Jansa. Slovenia’s economy shrank 6.6% in 2020 and the government estimates it will rebound 4.3% this year.

Bonds with a tenor of 50 years and more are a rarity in central and eastern Europe. Poland sold 500 million euros of 50-year bonds in 2005, while Slovakia sold as much of same-length securities in 2018. The Czech Republic’s local-currency bond is the only other 50-year bond offered from the region, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

(An earlier version of this story was corrected to reference Slovakia in the fifth paragraph)

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