Government of Barbados Announces Private Offering of Amortising Notes due 2025 and Tender Offer for up to U.S.$250 million of its 7.25% Notes due 2021 and 7.00% Notes due 2022

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Sept. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Government of Barbados (the "Government") is offering to sell amortising notes due 2025 (the "New Notes") through a private placement (the "Notes Offering").  The proceeds from the offering will be used to finance the tender offer described below (the "Tender Offer"), provide budgetary support to finance fiscal operations, build foreign exchange reserves and improve the Government's external debt maturity.  

The New Notes being offered have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or any state securities laws.  As a result, they may not be offered or sold in the United States or to any U.S. persons, except pursuant to an applicable exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act.  Accordingly, the New Notes are being offered only to "qualified institutional buyers" under Rule 144A of the Securities Act or, outside the United States, to persons other than "U.S. persons" in compliance with Regulation S under the Securities Act.  A confidential offering circular (the "Offering Circular") for the New Notes, dated today, will be made available to such eligible persons.  The offering is being conducted in accordance with the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the offering circular.

The Government has also commenced a Tender Offer to purchase for cash its 7.25% notes due 2021 and 7.00% notes due 2022 (the " Outstanding Notes") in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed U.S.$250 million.  The Tender Offer is not conditioned upon any minimum participation of any series of Outstanding Notes.  The Tender Offer is being made pursuant to an Offer to Purchase dated as of September 23, 2013 (the "Offer to Purchase").  The Tender Offer will expire at 11:59pm on September 30, 2013 (the "Expiration Date"), unless extended or earlier terminated by the Government. 

The following reflects the maturity date, ISIN, CUSIP and Common Code for each Outstanding Note subject to the Tender Offer:

Subject to the receipt of funds from the Notes Offering and the satisfaction of the terms and conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase, the Government will purchase validly tendered and accepted Outstanding Notes (after proration, if any) from holders on the settlement date.  Holders of Outstanding Notes that are validly tendered prior to the Expiration Date and accepted for purchase will receive total consideration of U.S.$980.00 per $1,000 principal amount of 7.25% notes due 2021 and U.S.$960.00 per $1,000 principal amount of 7.00% notes due 2022, validly tendered and accepted for purchase, plus any accrued and unpaid interest up to, but not including, the settlement date, which is expected to be on or about October 8, 2013.

The Tender Offer is not being made, directly or indirectly, to the public in Argentina, Brazil, Belgium, Israel, Italy, Switzerland or the United Kingdom (other than to investment professionals in Hong Kong or the United Kingdom or qualified investors in Belgium, France or Italy).  Accordingly, Holders of Outstanding Notes are notified that, to the extent such Holders are located or resident in any of these nations (other than to investment professionals in Hong Kong or the United Kingdom or qualified investors in Belgium, France or Italy), the Tender Offer is not available to them and they may not tender Outstanding Notes in the Tender Offer and, as such, any tender instructions received from or on behalf of such persons shall be ineffective and void.

This news release is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of, these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.  The Notes Offering and Tender Offer are being made only pursuant to the Offering Circular and the Offer to Purchase, copies of which will be delivered to eligible persons and Holders, respectively.

For more information relating to the Tender Offer, holders of Outstanding Notes may contact D.F. King & Co., Inc. at +1 (800) 769-7666 or via e-mail at [email protected].  Banks and Brokers may call collect at +1 (212) 269-5550.  

This release may contain "forward-looking statements" – that is, statements that relate to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address the Government's expected future financial performance and financial condition, and often contain words such as "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "seek," "see," or "will." Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain.  The Government assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information or future events or developments.

SOURCE Government of Barbados