Korean Air raises $300M in dollar bonds, weeks after samurai issue
What's the deal? Korean AirDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has raised $300 million through a Eurobond offering backed by a guarantee from KB Kookmin BankDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The airline finalised the sale via bookbuilding across Asian and European markets, issuing a three-year fixed-rate tranche.
Why now? The dollar sale follows Korean Air's US$153.8M samurai bond issuance in July 2026, which the Export-Import Bank of KoreaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → guaranteed. That quick re-raise signals the airline is moving fast to lock in foreign currency funding while demand holds.
The details: The spread landed at 57 basis points over comparable US Treasury yields, tightened 33bp from initial guidance of 90bp on robust demand. The KB Kookmin Bank guarantee earned the bonds a MoodyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s rating of Aa3, matching the bank's own.
Why it matters: Observers put the new issue premium at around zero, versus 5–10bp for most recent Korean issuers. That reflects the guarantee, which analysts estimate carried a premium of roughly 20–25bp.
The backdrop: Korean Air has leaned on bank guarantees since 2019, after issuing dollar bonds without an international credit rating in 2018. Korea Development BankDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has backed its dollar bonds, and the Export-Import Bank of Korea its samurai bonds. This time it used KB Kookmin Bank, a commercial lender.
The signal: Investor appetite was supported by easing Middle East tensions after US President Donald Trump announced new negotiations with Iran. With Korea's bond market posting record issuance volumes before an expected summer lull, Korean Air's guarantee-backed approach shows how issuers are stretching credit to price tightly.
Read more: Infomax
Image credit: byeangel
