Ülker Bisküvi Issues $650 Million Bond

Food company Ülker Bisküvi issued bonds valued at USD 650 million. Securing funds from abroad during the pandemic demonstrated confidence in Turkey and Ülker Bisküvi. Ülker Bisküvi plans to use part of the financing obtained to repay a foreign-sourced syndicated loan, with the remainder allocated to company investments. The bond transaction is expected to close on 30 October 2020, following the signing of relevant final agreements and approval of the issuance application submitted to the Capital Markets Board. Speaking about the bond issuance, Ülker Bisküvi CEO Mete Buyurgan stated: "The world and our country are going through a sensitive period due to the pandemic. Despite all this, as Ülker Bisküvi, we became the first food company in Turkey to conduct a bond issuance during the pandemic. Our bond issuance, which was met with great interest, is a result of Ülker's successful strategies in securing international financing sources and its strong relationship with investors." [caption id="attachment_105982" align="aligncenter"] Mete Buyurgan[/caption]

Mete Buyurgan: "We continue our path without slowing down."

Expressing that they are continuing their investments without slowing down, Mete Buyurgan evaluated Ülker Bisküvi's current performance as follows: "We announced our turnover for the first half of 2020 as TRY 4.5 billion. During this period, with our solid balance sheet and maintaining our strong position in the markets where we operate, we continue without slowing down our production, sales and distribution activities, employment, and exports to over 100 countries. Despite the difficult economic conditions worldwide, securing long-term financing for our company by international investors is an indication of confidence in both our country and our company," he said. Ülker Bisküvi CFO Cenker Uçan commented on the completed bond issuance: "We successfully completed Ülker's first bond issuance. Starting with a target of USD 450 million, we received demand of USD 1.8 billion from international investors and decided to set the issuance amount at USD 650 million. More than 130 international investors from 28 countries participated in our 5-year bonds. We thank the international investors who trust our company's solid financial structure."