Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten Group saw its dollar perps fall over 10% as the company launched a new $500mn 2Y high yield dollar bond at yields of around 12%. Rakuten is rated BB+ by S&P. Bloomberg sources said that the company’s bond offering was at a discount of two to three points, noting it was a private transaction. Given the backdrop of low yields in Japan, with the nation being the only country having negative policy rates, Rakuten’s new issue offers a massive yield premium. Bloomberg notes that the yield is an indication of how difficult it is for certain companies to access credit markets as rising rates and recession risks have made borrowing for junk bond issuers costlier this year. They added that Rakuten’s offering yield 12% is on par with Universal Entertainment Corp’s 12% bond issuance in 2015, the highest across Japanese dollar bonds.
