Berlian Laju Tanker (BLT), a small-cap Indonesian shipping company, has raised $100 million from a five-year convertible bond that was well received by investors. The company is a true high-yield issuer -- it has a credit spread closer to 2,000bp than 1,000bp and a B rating from Standard & Poor's and Fitch -- and the shipping sector is still clouded by uncertainty, but the downside protection offered by the CB appeared to provide enough comfort to get investors to open their purse strings.
It would have helped, however, that the conversion premium was set at a modest 10% and ...