IN SHORT: Morocco’s OCP Group raised $1.5 billion through Africa’s first-ever US dollar corporate hybrid bond on April 15, with the order book reaching nearly $7 billion from 176 investors across 23 countries. The deal reopened CEEMEA primary bond markets that had been paralysed for over a month by Iran-conflict volatility and signals global investor confidence in Africa’s largest phosphate company.
Morocco’s OCP Group has raised $1.5 billion through Africa’s first US dollar corporate hybrid bond, oversubscribed 4.6 times with demand of nearly $7 billion from 176 institutional investors across 23 countries, reopening primary bond markets across the Middle East, Africa and Central and Eastern Europe that had been frozen since the start of the Iran conflict.
The transaction, arranged by BNP Paribas, Citi and JPMorgan and closed on April 15, establishes OCP as the continent’s most sophisticated capital markets issuer and sets a new benchmark for African corporate debt.
- The hybrid is structured in two tranches: a 2031 maturity with a 6.74% coupon and a 2036 maturity at 7.37%. Under IFRS accounting standards the instrument is classified as 100% equity, while rating agencies Moody’s and S&P award it 50% equity credit, allowing OCP to raise capital that bolsters its balance sheet without pressuring its investment grade credit ratios.
- OCP controls more than 70% of global phosphate reserves, the key input for fertiliser. It posted revenues of $12.2 billion in 2025, up 25% year-on-year, with EBITDA of $4.6 billion and net leverage of 2.76 times. These are among the strongest credit fundamentals available from any African corporate issuer.
- Proceeds support OCP’s $13 billion investment programme running through 2027: expansion of fertiliser production capacity toward 20 million tonnes annually, green ammonia production targeting 200,000 tonnes by 2026, desalination expansion toward 560 million cubic metres of water per year at Jorf Lasfar and Safi, and lower-sulphur TSP fertiliser formats to adapt to Iran-disrupted sulphur supply chains.
- The deal is also a market reopening signal. The CEEMEA primary bond market had been paralysed for over a month by the Iran conflict and Hormuz closure. OCP’s 4.6 times oversubscription shows that institutional capital is willing to return to African and Middle Eastern issuers when the underlying credit story is compelling.
- OCP has conducted three hybrid operations in the Moroccan domestic market since 2016 with zero deferred coupon activations, a track record of discipline that reassured international investors approaching the instrument for the first time.
- Sulphur prices have risen approximately 35% in April compared with pre-conflict levels due to Hormuz disruption, tightening global fertiliser supply chains. OCP has secured sufficient sulphur inventory through at least end-June with diversified sourcing including Kazakhstan, Canada, Europe and the Gulf of Mexico.
Morocco’s sovereign rating upgrade in 2025 underpins OCP’s investment grade status and helped attract the depth of demand seen in the book. India imported 2.5 million tonnes of Moroccan DAP fertiliser in March 2026 alone, and Morocco now supplies 19% of EU fertiliser imports, reflecting OCP’s growing centrality to global food security supply chains.
The Bigger Picture: OCP’s hybrid bond is not just a financing transaction. It is proof that an African company with world-class assets and disciplined management can access the most sophisticated capital markets instruments available to global corporates. Africa controls the phosphate reserves the world needs to feed itself, and OCP is converting that geological endowment into capital markets credibility. For institutional investors who have historically avoided African corporate debt, OCP’s 4.6 times oversubscription makes the case that the continent’s best companies can outperform peers from any geography.
Source: Financial Afrik / Medafrica Times
