March 21, 2016, Tbilisi – Nikora Trade LLC, JSC Nikora’s wholly-owned subsidiary, has successfully completed its first ever bond offering on March 18, 2016. JSC Galt & Taggart served as the placement agent for the US$5 million, two-year issuance. The bond was issued at par with a coupon rate of 11%, payable semiannually. JSC Nikora acts as a guarantor for the issued bonds, which are intended to be listed on and admitted to the trading system of the Georgian Stock Exchange in the near future. Details of Nikora Trade's announcement can be found at the following link: www.nikora.ge.
“We are delighted to have successfully completed the issuance of our debut bonds, one of our largest projects to date. The issuance was met with considerable investor interest. This transaction represents part of our refinancing of the Nugeshi LLC acquisition and enables us to enhance our financial flexibility by diversifying our funding sources. We intend to further strengthen our position on the Georgian grocery retail market, where we currently hold a 26% share by revenues,” commented Irakli Bokolishvili, CEO of JSC Nikora.
“I am pleased to highlight the role of Galt & Taggart in the successful issuance of Nikora Trade’s bonds. This is the first public placement of a retail sector fixed-income instrument on the market and the investor community revealed a great deal of interest. I would like to congratulate the entire Galt & Taggart team, which has become the leading provider of investment banking services in the country to private and public companies as well as international financial institutions,” commented Archil Gachechiladze, Chairman of Galt & Taggart.
For inquiries please contact Galt & Taggart via email at st@gt.ge.
About Nikora Trade LLC
Nikora Trade LLC was incorporated on August 14, 2006, commencing operations in 2010. Nikora Trade LLC is a member of Nikora Holding Group. The ultimate parent of Nikora Trade LLC is JSC Nikora.
Nikora Trade LLC is the largest food retail chain operator country-wide, currently represented by 203 stores. The company’s stores are located in every district of the capital and in six regions of the country - the widest geographic coverage among peers. Large scale enables the company to negotiate high discounts with suppliers, gaining further competitive advantage over other market players. Having high-quality customer service, strong corporate governance, standardized processes and own personnel training centre, Nikora Trade is setting standards in the retail business industry.