IG Development Georgia has successfully completed a USD 19.5 million bond issue with the assistance of Galt & Taggart. The initial volume of the transaction was USD 15 million, however, due to high demand from investors, the volume was increased by USD 4.5 million. This issue is the largest public transaction carried out in 2024.
IG Development Georgia is the owner and manager of such large-scale multifunctional shopping centers as: City Mall Saburtalo[1], City Mall Gldani and City Tower. This transaction is the fifth issue for the company in the Georgian market, which was carried out exclusively with the assistance of Galt & Taggart. IG Development Georgia is the first representative of the corporate sector in Georgia to launch bond offerings through the program and, as a result, following a very simple procedure, created the possibility of more than one offering within 1 year.
In December 2023, IG Development Georgia, exclusively with the assistance of Galt & Taggart, approved a program worth a total of $45 million, within the framework of which it carried out transactions of $20 million in December 2023 and €5 million in January 2024. This transaction was the first public offering of 2024.
The fixed interest rate for the new, $19.5 million bonds, similar to the previous issue, was set at 8.50%. The bonds have a maturity of 2 years and will be fully repaid on July 8, 2026. The bonds were purchased by about 125 individuals and legal entities, citizens of Georgia and foreign countries. Of the total volume of the bonds, $15 million is intended to refinance the bonds placed on July 7, 2022, and the remainder is intended to refinance existing bank loans.
“With the help of Galt & Taggart, the company is already implementing the largest transaction of 2024 in the Georgian capital market for the fifth time with a fairly large volume. For the first time, 2 years ago, we successfully issued bonds worth a total of 30 million USD against the backdrop of not very attractive local or international developments. In 2023, the company approved another program worth a total of 45 million USD, within the framework of which it successfully placed bonds worth first 20 million USD, and then 5 million EUR. The current transaction successfully generated higher than expected interest from investors, as a result of which the initial volume of 15 million USD increased to 19.5 million USD. By issuing securities, the company has been diversifying its financing and optimizing costs for years, which correctly reflects the rather ambitious plans of our company. The excessive interest in the new issue indicates investors’ interest in the company high level of trust and makes them an important partner in our success. For IG Development, as one of the largest businesses in the country, the development of the capital market in the country is important and we believe that we can make our contribution to this process. We are confident that future offers will also be distinguished by similar innovative elements and we thank Galt & Taggart, other partners and investors for this opportunity,” says Mindia Sabanadze, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of IG Development Georgia.
“I am pleased that the fifth joint transaction has been completed in the exclusive partnership of Galt & Taggart and IG Development Georgia. Investor demand was higher than expected, and as a result, we successfully completed the largest transaction of the year. It is noteworthy that the first public transaction of 2024 was also carried out by IG Development Georgia, exclusively with the help of Galt & Taggart. We hope to offer the market many more similar, successful transactions and products in the future, within the framework of cooperation with IG Development Georgia,” says Vano Kikvilashvili, Head of Capital Markets at Galt & Taggart.
