POSCO said on the 15th that it repaid $360 million of foreign-currency bonds early through a public tender offer. It is a move to reduce borrowing fund and interest expense.
The bonds are five-year dollar notes issued in Jan. 2023 totaling $1 billion. They were issued at a fixed rate of 5.75%.
POSCO said it repaid $360 million of the bonds early, reducing the outstanding balance to $640 million.
POSCO repaid the bonds early with cash on hand. It said this is expected to save $31 million in interest expense through maturity.
POSCO said, "The partial early repayment of the foreign-currency bonds is a measure to use cash on hand to reduce borrowing fund and interest expense and strengthen financial soundness."
A debt tender offer is a method in which corporations buy back bonds they issued before maturity through a public tender offer to repay early and adjust the liability structure. Because it is conducted for all bondholders, it is considered to offer greater procedural transparency compared with private negotiations with individual investors.
POSCO said it was the first among domestic corporations to conduct a foreign-currency bond tender offer.
POSCO said it plans to manage its foreign-currency liability structure stably and strengthen financial soundness through this early repayment.