IPIC, or International Petroleum Investment Corporation,
selected Goldman Sachs to coordinate the transaction, a document sent by
arranging banks and seen by Reuters, said.
Roadshows will cover several European cities beginning in
London on Feb 28.
"We're hearing this one will be a very big size -
and issued in two to three tranches," said a fixed income trader.
Arranging banks are Goldman Sachs, Banco Santander, BNP
Paribas, Credit Agricole CIB, Deutsche Bank and Unicredit.
IPIC, which has stakes in Daimler and Virgin Galactic
through its majority-owned Aabar Investments, last tapped global bond markets
in November with an oversubscribed $2.5 billion deal.
The company, which has a mandate to invest in the oil
sector outside the emirate, increased Abu Dhabi's refining exposure after
taking over Spain's Cepsa.
Asked whether IPIC was considering bonds to fund that
acquisition, one Gulf-based banker said that was almost certain.
"Hence they are doing euros and sterling," he
said.
The only bank IPIC has retained from its November bond
dollar-transaction is Goldman Sachs, and European banks dominate the latest
mandate, including Spain's Banco Santander, indicating the company wants to
diversify into the euro and sterling markets.
A potential issue will test investor appetite for debt
from the region amid ongoing violent protests across the Middle East which have
already toppled governments in Egypt and Tunisia and raised the specter of
sustained political instability.
IPIC's roadshows are scheduled to take place in the
United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands and conclude
in London on March 8.
