The London banking firm of Baring Brothers & Co, Limited, is announcing today the preparation of an issue of 20-year sterling bonds of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The firm announces that underwriting has begun "in connection with an issue of ₤5,000,000 3½ per cent Stock, 1969/74, to be made by the International Bank.... The Stock is to be acquired by Baring Brothers & Co., Limited, Hambros. Bank Limited, Lazard Brothers & Co., Limited, Morgan Grenfell & Co. Limited, N. M. Rothschild & Sons and J. Henry Schroder & Co. and to be offered by them for sale to the public.
"It is intended to publish the offer for sale on Monday next, the 19th July, and to open am close the list of applications on Wednesday next, the 21st July. It is expected that the price at which the Stock will be offered will be 98 per cent.”
This is the second issue of the International Bank's bonds in the United Kingdom. The first consisted of ₤5,000,000 31/2% 20-year bonds, and was offered to the public in May 1951 by the same syndicate of London banking firms that is buying the issue announced today.
This is the twelfth issue of bonds sold by the Bank for currencies other than United States dollars. The principal amount of these sales, including a guilder issue announced by the Bank three days ago, is equivalent to about $144,000,000. A summary of these sales, with amounts expressed 1n United States dollars, follows:
Non-Dollar Bonds Sold Amount Expressed in U.S. Dollars
Two Sterling Issues $28,000,000
One Netherlands Guilder Issue 10,500,000
Seven Swiss Franc Issues 68,000,000
Two Canadian Dollar Issues 36,400,000
TOTAL $143,700,000
In this calendar year issues equivalent to $59,000,000 have been sold by the Bank in Canada, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
The total of Bank bonds outstanding in currencies other than United States dollars, giving effect to the guilder and new sterling issues, is equivalent to approximately $136,200,000; the equivalent of $7,500,000 in Swiss franc bonds has been repaid.
The Bank also has eight United States dollar issues outstanding in an amount of $665,000,000; and the sterling outstanding bonds up to about $801,000,000.
