Strong investor demand fuels Zeda's R850m bond raise led by Standard Bank

Source: Supplied. Luvuyo Masinda, chief executive officer of Corporate & Investment Banking at Standard Bank.

Among some of its notable assets, the company boasts the short-term rental, long-term leasing and car sales businesses in its stable and operates the global Avis and Budget brands. Last year, Zeda reported impressive results and declared its first dividend since listing.

“We are proud to have partnered with Zeda Limited from its inception and during the unbundling. We have seen the fruits of this partnership on a first-hand basis as the company has gone from strength to strength,” says Luvuyo Masinda, chief executive officer of Corporate & Investment Banking at Standard Bank.

“Standard Bank has been instrumental in the refinancing of Zeda’s existing funding and was appointed to establish a JSE-Registered Bond Programme. This partnership culminated in the successful inaugural bond auction to access the debt capital market to diversify its funding base,” says Kaone Lekalake, executive vice president: Client Coverage at Standard Bank CIB.

The inaugural bond auction was exceptionally well subscribed for, with R2,36bn of bids received across the notes on offer from a wide range of institutional investors.

This strong demand allowed Zeda to upsize the issuance to raise a total of R850m at very favourable pricing, which cleared 5 basis points through the price guidance provided in both notes on offer. The overwhelming investor demand underscores Zeda’s robust performance and highlights the positive sentiment toward the company.

“Standard Bank is proud to have walked this journey and partnered with Zeda in accessing the Debt Capital Market. We are also pleased to have played a role in developing the market by bringing a new issuer such as Zeda to market.” say Allister Lamont-Smith, Debt Capital Market Transactor at Standard Bank, CIB.

“We are extremely proud to partner with a bank that supports our integrated mobility strategy in Southern Africa. Funding is one of our strategic objectives, which seeks to lower cost of funding as we invest in growth pillars of the business. Zeda is confident that the first bond auction will be a key enabler to achieving this objective and will unlock value for our shareholders. We believe this is the first of many more successful collaborations,” says Ramasela Ganda, Zeda Limited Group chief executive officer.

“Companies like Zeda delivering mobility solutions across Southern Africa, illustrate what we mean when we say Africa is our home; we drive her growth,” concludes Masinda from Standard Bank.