Dufry is issuing a $500m bond in line with comments related to this week’s 51% purchase of Hellenic Duty Free Shops from Folli Follie for $257.8m.

In a statement this morning, Dufry said it plans to issue US dollar-denominated Senior Notes with a target deal size of approximately $500m, with the proceeds aimed at refinancing existing bank indebtedness maturing in 2013. The travel retailer says that the move ‘will further improve the maturity profile of the Company’s financial indebtedness’.

The company said it intends to use the proceeds to repay part of an outstanding syndicated loan early. This was originally scheduled to mature in August 2013. It adds that it plans to issue Notes with a principal amount of approximately $500m, with an expected maturity of eight years. These will initially be placed with qualified institutional investors in Switzerland and abroad, with exact terms and conditions expected to be finalized in the coming days.

The retailer concluded: “Through accessing the international debt capital markets, Dufry will diversify its funding sources and extend the maturity profile of its indebtedness. As the majority of the company’s cash flows are in US dollars, the sale of US dollar-denominated Notes will help to match the currencies of the company’s income and liabilities.”

[Shown Above: Dufry at Sao Paulo Airport in Brazil].