OREANDA-NEWS. April 05, 2016. Fast Retailing Co., Ltd.'s 250 billion yen unsecured straight bond series, issued in December 2015, have been awarded Debut Debt Deal of the Year in the Bond category at the Thomson Reuters DEALWATCH AWARDS 2015. The same series also won Capital Eye's coveted BEST DEALS OF 2015 Award for the Straight Bond category.

The annual DealWatch and Capital Eye awards are designed to reward issuers and underwriting companies for the most outstanding debt and equity issues in the capital markets that year. Winners are selected based on a range of rigorous evaluations, including analysis of questionnaires submitted by institutional investors and other experienced industry parties, and specific in-house criteria such as innovation, appropriate issue and secondary pricing, and significance or contribution to the ongoing development of Japan's capital markets.

? DEALWATCH AWARDS: Judges Evaluation of Fast Retailing

This award was for the debut debt deal, but, with an aggregate issue amount of 250 billion yen, Fast Retailing's unsecured straight bond series was the biggest issue for the wholesale market in fiscal 2015. Fast Retailing made good use of UNIQLO's strong brand image, offering a variety of maturities and setting appropriate conditions for the issue amount, all of which ultimately encouraged lively investor demand.

? Capital Eye Awards: Judges Evaluation of Fast Retailing

Fast Retailing debuted in the capital market with two vital weapons: overwhelming brand recognition and a high level of reliability. Investors were instantly attracted by the deal's strong financial conditions, and the total 250 billion yen amount was readily digested by the market. This was the biggest plain vanilla bond issue in the wholesale market in fiscal 2015. The issue, which offered a wide range of short and long-term maturities and secured a spread commensurate with its size, attracted 1,400 participants and 600 billion yen of demand. The deal proved a great boost for the corporate bond market, which had been gradually shrinking in a low interest-rate environment.

Fast Retailing's 250 billion yen straight bond series

Fast Retailing Series 1 Unsecured Straight Bond, December 2015, 30 billion yen, 3 year
Fast Retailing Series 2 Unsecured Straight Bond, December 2015, 100 billion yen, 5 year
Fast Retailing Series 3 Unsecured Straight Bond, December 2015, 50 billion yen, 7 year
Fast Retailing Series 4 Unsecured Straight Bond, December 2015, 70 billion yen, 10 year
(Underwriters: Nomura Securities/SMBC Nikko Securities/Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities)