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Top Equity News

• Spanish builder looks towards expansion with two-pronged cap hike

  Spanish construction company Sacyr Vallehermoso completed a two-pronged €416m capital raise on Wednesday night, with investor appetite for well-known Spanish names helping the deal through its unusual timing.

  • 11:45 AM
  

• Applus IPO to put up to 63% of Spanish firm in free-float

  A €1.1bn IPO for Spanish testing firm Applus will put up to 63% of the company into free float on the Spanish stock exchange as the Carlyle Group looks to divest of part of its majority stake in the company.

  • 03:15 PM
  

• Marine Harvest CB finds success on second try

  Norwegian seafood firm Marine Harvest raised €375m from a convertible bond on Thursday, pricing the deal at the most aggressive terms after a much tougher transaction almost exactly a year ago.

  • 01:00 PM
  

• Domus launches IPO bookbuilding to raise up to €250m

  Dutch real estate firm Domus, which specialises in property in the Czech Republic, has set the pricing range for its IPO at €16.50-€20.50 per share as bookbuilding began on Thursday.

  • 03:00 PM
  

• SFS sets IPO pricing range, looks for gross proceeds of up to Sfr349m

  An IPO for SFS, the Swiss fasteners and fittings firm, is set to raise up to Sfr349m ($395.84m) after the pricing range for the deal was set at Sfr57-Sfr69 per share.

  • 23 Apr 2014
  

Coverage Message

The world flipped upside down on Thursday: tech became good, banks and property became bad. Barclays held its AGM today ahead of what is likely to be another set of disappointing results. Shareholders clamoured to express concern about high pay and low performance, with key shareholder Standard Life voting against a plan to increases bonuses. One private investor told the assembled shareholders that “We’re paying for Manchester United but we are getting Colchester United.” (He’s wrong: the Red Devils and the blue eagles are both once great but now mid-table British institutions).  Deutsche Bank shareholders are also getting worried about the bank’s capital position.

But the now slightly out of favour tech sector helped provide some salve on Thursday. Apple’s far better than expected results helped lift sentiment across markets, and the company is still cool in China. It’s launched share buybacks, stock splits and a slick new green strategy, the latter of which apparently includes lots of footage of solar parks. And Facebook’s results were a positive surprise, too, with ad revenue continuing to climb. That should keep Mark Zuckerberg out of the therapists’ chair, despite Chinese competitor Webo’s attempts to put him there.

Finally, London landmark the Gherkin — described, now worryingly, as “an icon of London’s City financial district” — was placed into receivership on Thursday afternoon. The problems have been blamed on the owners’ complicated capital structure, some of which is a hangover from the acquisition at the height of the crisis in 2007. But after a run of London property deals over the last year, investors will be hoping there’s not too much to worry about. Although it could be a sign that the City is on a comedown, in more ways than one…

 

Latest Equity News

• Applus IPO to put up to 63% of Spanish firm in free-float

  A €1.1bn IPO for Spanish testing firm Applus will put up to 63% of the company into free float on the Spanish stock exchange as the Carlyle Group looks to divest of part of its majority stake in the company.

  • 03:15 PM

• Domus launches IPO bookbuilding to raise up to €250m

  Dutch real estate firm Domus, which specialises in property in the Czech Republic, has set the pricing range for its IPO at €16.50-€20.50 per share as bookbuilding began on Thursday.

  • 03:00 PM

• Marine Harvest CB finds success on second try

  Norwegian seafood firm Marine Harvest raised €375m from a convertible bond on Thursday, pricing the deal at the most aggressive terms after a much tougher transaction almost exactly a year ago.

  • 01:00 PM

• Spanish builder looks towards expansion with two-pronged cap hike

  Spanish construction company Sacyr Vallehermoso completed a two-pronged €416m capital raise on Wednesday night, with investor appetite for well-known Spanish names helping the deal through its unusual timing.

  • 11:45 AM

• Barclays steers FICC down at AGM

  Barclays CEO Anthony Jenkins said at the bank’s AGM that its fixed income, currency and commodities (FICC) business “continued to face many of the challenges seen in the second half of 2013 with a significant year-on-year reduction in FICC income, reflecting difficult market conditions and a strong comparative performance for Q1 last year.”

  • 11:15 AM

• Alior Bank block trade sees sale of 4.7% of Polish firm

  The Carlos Tessara Group sold a 4.7% stake in Poland’s Alior Bank on Tuesday night, raising Z260.7m ($86.04m).

  • 23 Apr 2014

• SFS sets IPO pricing range, looks for gross proceeds of up to Sfr349m

  An IPO for SFS, the Swiss fasteners and fittings firm, is set to raise up to Sfr349m ($395.84m) after the pricing range for the deal was set at Sfr57-Sfr69 per share.

  • 23 Apr 2014

• Portuguese banks could be next to see DTA 'benefit'

  Portuguese regulators could be the next authority to allow their banks to increase their capital ratios using deferred tax assets, following similar moves in Spain and Italy that have boosted headline Basel III capital ratios at local banks.

  • 23 Apr 2014

• Banco Popolare rights issue rump to be sold in market from Wednesday

  The shares left unsubscribed after Banco Popolare’s €1.5bn capital raise will be offered in a rump sale on Wednesday, after the deal was 99.138% successfully placed.

  • 22 Apr 2014

• Rezidor Hotels to raise Skr544m in rights issue

  Sweden’s Rezidor Hotels has set the terms for its Skr544m ($82.6m) rights issue, giving the shareholders the opportunity to subscribe for one new share for every six existing shares held.

  • 22 Apr 2014