Air France-KLM has employed a letter of credit (L/C) from Bank of China to back its latest fund raising efforts in Asia.

The L/C backs a successful placement with Asian institutional investors by way of unlisted private placement a US$145 million issuance of senior notes maturing on 15 December 2026, with an interest rate of 4.35 per cent.

L/C benefits

The notes benefit from an irrevocable standby L/C issued by Bank of China's Paris Branch.

BOC International, the investment and brokerage subsidiary of Bank of China, led the issue as sole bookrunner and manager.

Recovery

The senior notes have been swapped into Euro in a transaction that enables Air France-KLM to lengthen its debt profile.

Shortly before the placement, Air France-KLM was able to report a 4.8 per cent year-over-year rise in the number of passengers carried in November, bouncing back after last year's figures were depressed by the impact on tourism of the terror attacks in Paris.

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