News Release
April 1, 2015
Capital Eye Ltd.

BEST DEALS OF 2014 Awards Selection:
Panasonic’s Straight Bond, Recruit’s IPO
On April 1, Capital Eye Ltd. announced its Awards “BEST DEALS OF 2014”. The honors reflect the results ofsurveyed responses from securities companies and institutional investors, combined with Capital Eye’s
editorial judgment, in determining outstanding bond and equity transactions, issuers, and underwriters of the2014 fiscal year (April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015).
The 2014 fiscal year saw a number of large, attention-getting capital raising transactions to address needs
ranging from capital expenditure (capex), product development, and merger and acquisition (M&A) activity.
Among the award winners were Panasonic Corp., which raised Y400 billion via straight bonds (SB) for capex,
and SoftBank Corp., which marketed Y1.55 trillion in retail investor targeted SBs to fund its appetite foracquisitions. Mitsui Fudosan also raised Y313.8 billion in order to fund various enterprises, while Dai-ichi Life
Insurance Company made use of Y260 billion worth of equity financing in order to buy out a U.S. insurer.
Recruit Holdings Co. also won honors for its IPO listing and subsequent M&A agenda.
In the bond category, issuers winning plaudits included Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) andKobe City, both of which set a floor on coupon in the super-low interest rate environment. Meanwhile,
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Rabobank used yen-denominated debt for the first time to boost theircore capital ratios. In the equity arena, Seibu Holdings Inc. returned to the market for the first time in nine
years, four months, while Nippon Healthcare Investment Corporation led a field that brought a fresh asset
class to the market.
In the category of Best House--newly established from this fiscal year--Nomura Securities stood out in the SB,
IPO, PO, and CB fields, while Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities shined in the zaito (agency) bondand regional bond arenas. In other areas, Daiwa Securities made its mark in the Samurai market, while Bankof America Merrill Lynch raised its flag in foreign currency bonds, and SMBC Nikko Securities was aprominent J-REIT underwriter.

STRAIGHT BONDS
Best Deals-WinnerNo. 12 Panasonic Corporation

Mar 4, 20155-yearY220bnNo. 13 Panasonic Corporation

Mar 4, 20157-yearY80bn

No. 14 Panasonic Corporation

Mar 4, 201510-year

Y100bn〈Nomura / SMBC Nikko / Daiwa / Goldman Sachs / Mizuho / Merrill Lynch Japan / Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan
Stanley〉
Panasonic’s single-A rated large Y400 billion offer was readily digested by the market; it ranked as the biggest
corporate bond of the period geared for institutional investors. The transaction was also completed atrelatively thick spreads, in line with the size of the deal, and signaled that the company had achieved a
speedy rebound in the evaluation of its credit. In the end, nearly 1,200 institutional investors participated. An

iconic Japanese company, Panasonic left the impression as having staged a complete recovery, garneringbids for its paper on expectations of future growth.
Best Deals-Winner
SUB. No. 1 Mitsubishi UFJ Financial GroupJun 20, 201410-year

Y40bn

SUB. No. 2 Mitsubishi UFJ Financial GroupJun 20, 201410-year (Non-Call5)

Y10bn〈Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley〉
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG)’s offer was the first domestic yen-denominated B3T2 deal from abanking group. Acting under new industry guidelines and armed with the fruit of dialogue with investors, thebank was able to create a new kind of deal under a subordinated bank bond scheme, resulting in apath-breaking transaction. The offer was divided by investor class into 10-year ’bullet’ and 10NC5 tranches,enabling it to meet a wide variety of demands, and establish a benchmark status for the pricing of future deals
of its type.
Best Issuer of 2014
SoftBank Corp.
SoftBank made use of its high name recognition, gearing all four of its tranches towards individual investors to
produce a total of Y1.55 trillion worth of straight bonds. The aggregate size of the deal was a big contributor to
the industry as a whole, as it comprised just under 20% of the entire year’s paper by value. The deals wereable to meet exacting investor needs in spite of the prevailing low interest rate environment, printing 2.50%
coupons for both tranches of 7-year subordinated paper, which it published on separate dates in the course of
the year.
Best House of 2014
Nomura Securities
Nomura led successful large-scale deals in fiscal 2014, including Panasonic’s straight bond and SoftBank’s
subordinated offer. As a bookrunner, the brokerage was behind nearly 40% of the transactions that came tomarket, making its presence felt in terms of both quality and quantity.

ZAITO (AGENCY) BONDS
Best Deal-WinnerNo. 37 Japan Student Services Organization

Oct 24, 2014

2-yearY40bn〈Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley / Daiwa / SMBC Nikko〉
JASSO adopted a marketing method that employed bottom-limit coupon just above the Bank of Japan’s 0.1%
rate--and successfully priced its paper based upon that level. The extra interest ‘plus alpha’ found market
favor, and resulted in a deal that was just under twice covered in terms of demand.
Best Issuer of 2014
No selection

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Best House of 2014
Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities
Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities got the ball rolling in fiscal 2014 by leading JASSO’s No. 37 debt
offer, which featured a limit-low coupon approach to deal-making in response to the prevailing domestic
ultra-low interest rate environment. The transaction style was adopted by 16 other issuers. Mitsubishi UFJ
Morgan Stanley led the rankings by issue count and value, commanding a 30% total market share.

REGIONAL BONDS
Best Deal-WinnerNo. 1 Sakai City

Nov 14, 201430-year

Y15bn〈Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley / Mizuho / Daiwa〉
Sakai City’s bond offer helped to resurrect conventional standards around the 30-year regional paper space
after additional central bank monetary easing had all but extinguished supply in that tenor. Sakai priced its
offer at 15 basis points over sovereign debt—a level it had previously disclosed in a one-price, day-and-a-half,
short-term marketing period that reduced risks to both the issuer and investors. The transaction demonstrated
one kind of issuing model that showed promise for potentially fast-moving markets.
Best Deal-WinnerNo. 15 City of Kobe

Dec 11, 20145-year

Y12bn〈Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley / Nomura / Goldman Sachs〉
Among regional bonds, City of Kobe’s five-year offer was the first to be marketed at rock-bottom interest rates,
succeeding in pricing just above the Bank of Japan’s official 0.1% level. Considering the manner in whichbookrunners traditionally operate, the deal terms reflected agile handling and decision-making. The offer
helped to pave the way for other five-year transactions amid the super-low domestic interest rateenvironment.
Best Issuer of 2014
Fukuoka Prefecture
Regular redemption bond met with spreads that simply tightened too much, as well as worsening demand.
Fukuoka Prefecture’s February deal ultimately marked a turning point for the entire industry. Careful
explanation of the general bookrunner system—which had been in place for several years in the super-longbond space--garnered high marks for the issuer.
Best House of 2014
Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities
Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities had a hand in a variety of noteworthy deals as bookrunner,
including Sakai City’s 30-year bond and City of Kobe’s five-year deal--both of which won awards—as well as
Fukuoka Prefecture’s redemption bond and Hyogo Prefecture’s 18-year debt issue. The brokerage also won
plaudits for its efforts in Fukuoka’s debt redemption/maturity issues which were rolled together, Kitakyushu’s
simultaneous 15- and 20-year transactions, and Nagoya’s 10-year redemption bond.

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SAMURAI BONDS
Best Deal-Winner
SUB No. 1 Rabobank

Dec 12, 201410-yearY50.8bn〈Daiwa / Merrill Lynch Japan / Mizuho / Nomura / SMBC Nikko〉
Facing ever-tightening spreads, Rabobank presented a new product to the Samurai market. The bankpainstakingly explained to investors the concepts of bankruptcy vis-à-vis Japan, and took the prudent step ofpreparing the groundwork for its deal a year ahead of time, putting emphasis on marketing efforts in reaction
to volatility. The bank ultimately succeeding in producing a benchmark-sized deal. In getting a head start onother issuers, Rabobank also contributed to the growth of the B3T2 market.
Special Prize
No. 9 Morgan Stanley

May 16, 2014

4-yearY122.5bn

No. 10 Morgan Stanley

May 16, 201410-yearY8.7bnFRN No. 3 Morgan Stanley

May 16, 2014

4-year

Y18.8bn〈Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley / Morgan Stanley MUFG〉
Morgan Stanley’s deal attracted investors to the short- and mid-tenor ranges of its paper. The bank utilized ashortened marketing period that dramatically reduced the risk of price swings, ending up with a jumbo
Samurai worth Y150 billion-its first in six years. The deal benefited from comparisons with other offers in termsof spread thickness, while its name scarcity, as well as the sterling backing of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group,
all combined to bring its efforts to fruition. With all investors participating, the deal signaled to the market that
Morgan Stanley was officially back.
Special Prize
No. 18 United Mexican States

Jul 15, 20145-year

Y33.8bn

No. 19 United Mexican States

Jul 15, 201410-yearY13.9bn

No. 20 United Mexican States

Jul 15, 201420-yearY12.3bn〈Citigroup / Mizuho / Nomura〉
Mexico issued its first 10-year paper in 18 years, and its first-ever 20-year tranche, successfully stretching thecredit curve to the super-long-tenor range. The offer illustrated sound strategic management, backed by
Mexico’s solid credit, as well as spread tightening and tenor lengthening, as it accommodated a broad
expansion of the investor base.
Best Issuer of 2014
Renault
Renault’s May two-tranche deal was the largest French, as well as the largest corporate Samurai offer, ever tocome to market, and demonstrated the success of the automaker’s more than 10-year commitment to themarket. Not content to rely on its sterling reputation as Nissan Motor Corp.’s parent company, Renault
pursued rigorous dialogue with the market, listening carefully to investors. This helped the triple B rated
company to print a stunning Y150 billion worth of Samurai paper.
Best House of 2014
Daiwa Securities
Daiwa ranked as the top-ranked house for the second consecutive year. Sporting the strength of a wide4

coverage area, the house not only brought new types of subordinated bonds by Rabobank and BPCE tomarket, but also had a hand in multiple other transactions as bookrunner, including deals by Credit Suisse
and Deutsche Bank. While it was not the first to make an impression at start of the fiscal year, upon reflection.
Daiwa ended up as a standout house.

SECURITIZATION DEALSBest Deal-Winner
No selection
Best Issuer of 2014
Japan Housing Finance Agency
Printing about Y100 billion in residential mortgage backed securities on a monthly basis, Japan Housing
Finance Agency (JHF) was responsible for Y1.2438 trillion in RMBS paper in fiscal 2014, which altogether
accounted for the largest class of domestic debt. The Agency sports a reputation for attentiveness to stabledigestion of its paper, as well as a fine-tuned approach to diagnosing the market. JHF comes with new issues
regularly, revitalizing dormant areas of the market. The year posed challenges, however; as interest ratechanges became more pronounced towards the end of the period, JHF narrowed its marketing range,
managing its deals adroitly and without arranging a syndicate.
Best House of 2014
No selection

FOREIGN CURRENCY BONDS
Best Deals-WinnerSuntory Holdings Global SB

Sep 24, 2014

3-year$500milSuntory Holdings Global SB

Sep 24, 20145-year$500mil〈BOA Merrill Lynch / Morgan Stanley / Citigroup / JPMorgan / Barclays / BNP Paribas〉
Suntory Holdings’ dollar bond offer was aimed at converting part of a bridge loan for the purpose of buying out
U.S. beverage maker Beam Inc. Suntory’s first-ever foreign currency denominated bond, the transaction
carried huge significance as the firm made its appeal to investors based on its aspirations to become a global
company. Its scarcity as a corporate issuer also served as a point of strength, resulting in pricing that was tight,
and accompanied by strong demand. Suntory and its deal garnered praise abroad for its challenging spirit.
Special Prize
Development Bank of Japan Euro SB

Sep 30, 2014

3-year€250mil〈BOA Merrill Lynch / Morgan Stanley / Citigroup / Daiwa〉
Development Bank of Japan’s (DBJ)’s offer was the first Green Bond from a Japanese issuer, and was able totake advantage of a bullish European debt market, expanding its investor base while at the same timerealizing tight pricing. Despite not being of traditional benchmark size, its ready reception and potential as a
Green Bond served it well in the marketing process.

5Best Issuer of 2014
Japan Finance Organization for Municipalities
Japan Finance Organization for Municipalities (JFM) brought to market the only Japanese public SSA(sovereign, supranational and agency) benchmark-sized non-government guaranteed euro-denominated anddollar-denominated paper. Thanks to some scarcity value, the deal succeeded at an upsized 1 billion euros.
JFM’s subsequent February dollar bond, coming on the heels of JBIC’s post-sovereign credit downgrade deal,
firmly established Japanese issuers in the non-government guaranteed space.
Best House of 2014
BOA Merrill Lynch
Bank of America Merrill Lynch displayed its power as a main house as it stood behind several noteworthy
deals, including Suntory Holdings’ award-winning global bond offer, senior bank sector debt, life insurer
subordinated debt, and other deals from prominent public issuers. BOAML also helped to make a place forJapanese issuers of U.S. dollar bonds as it had a hand in JBIC’s February post-sovereign credit downgradedeal. In the euro-denominated zone, BOAML contributed to market growth with its involvement in deals by
JFM as well as DBJ’s Green Bond.

NEW PUBLIC EQUITY ISSUES/URIDASHIBest Deal-Winner
SEIBU HOLDINGS〈UBS / Mizuho〉

Apr 23, 2014 (Listing date)Public Uridashi
Total shares: 27,826,000

Total amount: Y44,521.6mil
Seibu Holdings’ secondary share sale proceeded despite the threat of jinxing after lead shareholder Cerberus
Capital Management refused to sell its stake. Flexible pricing that met investors’ levels marked Seibu’s
successful return to the market after nine years, four months. The shares’ strong performance in thesecondary market also warranted praise.
Best Issuer of 2014
Recruit Holdings
Sporting a high degree of name recognition, Recruit Holdings’ IPO had been long awaited by the market. The
company’s reputation was solid; one private equity fund spokesperson said of Recruit: “In a group, this is acompany that can fully express its individuality. Even in an M&A transaction, it seems to do somethinginteresting.” Recruit’s IPO attracted many retail and institutional investors through the bookbuilding process.
Best House of 2014
Nomura Securities
As illustrated by Recruit Holdings, SKYLARK, and other high-profile deals from IPOs to IT companies andexit strategies, Nomura Securities earned high grades through its involvement as bookrunner in a wide arrayof transactions. In terms of ranking, its market share totaled 45.64%, standing head and shoulders above its
competitors in both deal count and deal size.

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SECONDARY PUBLIC EQUITY ISSUES/URIDASHIBest Deal-Winner
Mitsui Fudosan〈Nomura / Daiwa / SMBC Nikko〉

May 27, 2014

Public Issue
Total shares: 100,000,000

Total amount: Y313.8bn
Mitsui Fudosan timed its equity sales perfectly, as excitement over the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics and theperceived positive implications for the real estate market helped to push up publicly traded land developer
shares to their highest levels. Mitsui Fudosan’s equity story of bolstering its financial foundation and long-term
investment potential found welcome agreement in the market.
Best Deal-Winner
The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company〈Goldman Sachs / Nomura〉

Jul 3, 2014

Public Issue
Total shares: 184,900,000
Total amount: Y259.0449bn

Dai-ichi Life’s transaction was aimed at securing capital to enable its buyout of U.S. insurer Protective Life
Corporation. The offer won praise as a nimbly orchestrated M&A momentum-capitalizing offer that captured
the synergies between the two firms, resulting in growth potential for Dai-ichi Life.
Best Issuer of 2014
No selection
Best House of 2014
Nomura Securities
As bookrunner, Nomura led the market with a 42.1% share of all deals, including such iconic offers from Mitsui
Fudosan, Daiichi Life Insurance, and J-Power. In setting appropriate pricing, the brokerage performed
admirably its role as equity market bridge for both issuers and investors.

REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTSBest Deal-Winner
Nippon Healthcare Investment Corporation〈Daiwa〉

Nov 5, 2014(Listing date)Public Issue
Total shares: 39,000

Total amount: Y5,850mil
Nippon Healthcare Investment’s transaction was Japan’s first-ever health care REIT, a reaction to changing
market expectations, as well as momentum for expansion. The first printed price soared 48% above the public
offer price, and aftermarket performance was also strong.
Best Issuer of 2014
Invincible Investment Corporation
Invincible Investment had much on its plate, including a sponsor change, reduction in debt costs, and portfolio
reconstruction around its base of hotels. It was nevertheless able to attract the support of a plethora ofinvestors both at home and abroad. High demand pushed up the publicly offered price by more than double.
Best House of 2014
SMBC Nikko Securities

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As a bookrunner, SMBC Nikko Securities sponsored 29 of the 40 deals completed in the REIT sector in fiscal
2014 for a share of 33%. The brokerage was behind many large issues, as well as Japan Hotel REIT
Investment Corporation, and Healthcare & Medical Investment Corporation’s landmark offer, contributing
greatly to growth of the industry.

CONVERTIBLE BONDS
Best Deals-Winner
The Chugoku Electric PowerEuro Yen CB

Feb 12, 2015

3-year

Y50bn

The Chugoku Electric PowerEuro Yen CB

Feb 12, 20155-year

Y50bn〈Nomura〉
Chugoku Electric’s attempt at a large-scale CB offer represented a rarity for an electric power company.
The company took the plunge as equity capital raising needs had been heightened by ongoing debate overliberalization of the power industry as well as the restart of the nation’s nuclear power generators. Steadydeal management won plaudits for helping the transaction finish at the upper limit of its pricing range.
Best Deal-Winner
Nagoya Railroad

Euro Yen CB

Nov 25, 201410-year

Y40bn〈Daiwa / Morgan Stanley / SMBC Nikko / Mizuho〉
Fiscal 2014 saw Nagoya Railroad produce 10-year zero-coupon bonds for the second consecutive year. The
company did not shy away from making the deal in the face of a high share price on expectations for therenovation of the commercial area in front of Nagoya Station and the superconducting maglev “linear” bullet
train’s eventual passage. The company was also able to successfully print its convert at better terms than itsprior visit to the market. Moreover, the deal’s eight-year put was also the longest dated such feature since the2008 “Lehman Shock.”
BEST ISSUER OF 2014
No selection
Best House of 2014
Nomura Securities
Nomura served as bookrunner on 24 issues during the year--more than half of the 45 total deals that weregenerated. The house was behind Y100 billion in transactions, for a total market share of 54.51% in a displayof overwhelming strength.

About Capital Eye awards:
Capital Eye’s awards recognize the year’s best and most reputable capital market transactions. Surveys are
distributed to industry players, including underwriters and institutional investors, which assist in identifying
worthy issuers and transactions, along with relevant asset classes: straight bonds, zaito (agency) bonds,
regional bonds, Samurai bonds, foreign currency bonds (Japanese corporations issuing debt abroad), andsecuritized offers, as well as new share issues, existing share issues, J-REITs, and convertible bonds, etc.
Transactions are also appraised by Capital Eye editors on such aspects as market digestion, significance and8relevance, towards promoting further activity.

About Capital Eye Limited
Representative:

Kazuko Takada

Address:

101-0065 Tokyo-to, Chiyoda-ku, Nishi Kanda 3-1-6
Nihon Kodokai Bldg, 2F

Establishment:

July, 2006

Capital:Y80,000,000

Business:

Financial service product provider, specializing in real-time (online) and published capital
markets intelligence and analyses (Capital Eye News) geared for industry professionals.
Fixed income coverage includes corporate bonds, zaito (agency) bonds, government
guaranteed bonds, secondary market activity, as well as credit default swaps andcorporate paper. Equities coverage includes corporate issuance, REITs, and convertible
bonds, as well as mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and stock lending-related news andanalyses.

Inquiries:
Capital Eye Public Relations Division
Takeshi kikuchi: 03-6826-4721

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