The new bond has a coupon of 8.25 per cent - a point below the US$450-million 2012 bond it replaces - and is at 98.625 to yield 8.5 per cent.

The proceeds of the offering will be used to repurchase the 2012s, with "any balance retained by the company for general corporate purposes."

Fitch has rated the new issue 'B-', the same as the US$450 million bond it replaces.

"We are very pleased with the success of this refinancing of our 2012 bonds, which shows our continued disciplined approach to our debt management," said Digicel Group chief executive officer Colm Delves.

The transaction enabled us to take advantage of the attractive interest rates available to us. The lower coupon on our new issue reflects investors' increasing comfort with Digicel's declining risk profile."

Digicel, which is owned by Irishman Denis O'Brien, has favoured debt capital for growing the now eight-year-old business - with some US$2.4 billion of bonds in issue, a US$1.15 billion bank line of credit, and other loans from the International Finance Corporation.

Digicel returns positive results on its operations, reporting half-year EBITDA of US$364 million on revenues of US$857 million.

The US$500 float was led by Credit Suisse, with Citi and JP Morgan as joint book-runners on the deal.

business@gleanerjm.com