RMBofferedPepkordiversifiedfundingandaccesstothecapitalmarkets

The challenge

Pepkor has the largest retail store footprint in Southern Africa, with more than 5 400 stores across 11 African countries, holding some of the most trusted brands on the continent. As part of their strategy to grow their business and diversify their funding mix, Pepkor wanted to access the bond market and approached RMB as a natural partner due to their long-standing relationship with the bank.

The RMB solution

RMB initially arranged a R2.5-bn bridge funding package to provide Pepkor with funding flexibility and immediate liquidity. The Debt Capital Markets (DCM) team enabled Pepkor to gain an Investment Grade Credit Rating to ultimately become an issuer in the capital markets. RMB furthermore assisted Pepkor with capital markets investor meetings and raised R1-bn to partially refinance the bridge funding to enable Pepkor to diversify its funding base and provide cost-effective term funding.

Proven client results

RMB enabled Pepkor to diversify its funding pool by gaining access to the capital markets at a competitive rate. Gaining an Investment Grade Credit Rating has set them up for ongoing access to funding. They are also able to spread out the maturity of their funding. Overall, Pepkor is in a much stronger position than before, being able to access funding from both banks and the capital markets.

Client	Pepkor
Deal value	R2.5-bn
Sector	Retail
Capabilities	Balance sheet management, structured finance, debt finance
RMB's role	Sole mandated debt capital market advisor and book runner, bridge loan arranger and funder
Country	South Africa