Africa

South Africa's Steinhoff is lining up $3.8bn in loans to buy bedding retailer Mattress Firm. The acquisition will give the retailer a foothold in the US consumer market.

African Export-Import Bank has appointed a new director for syndications, after hiring another senior loan syndication banker earlier this summer.

Ethos Capital, a permanent capital vehicle belonging to Ethos Private Equity, one of the largest private equity companies in sub-Saharan Africa, had a bumpy ride on its first day of trading on the Johannesburg stock exchange.

Republic of the Congo’s bonds dropped four cash points since Tuesday as all three ratings agencies downgraded the country this week. The downgrades follow the sovereign's default last week on a principal and coupon payment for its only international bond.

Investor appetite for African risk seems to have found its upper limit as even the EM bulls would not stretch to buying Ghanaian sovereign risk at the asking price on Thursday, writes Virginia Furness.

Republic of Ghana postponed its dollar bond issuance on Thursday after pricing moved against the issuer. It will proceed with a $100m buy-back of its 2017s but there is confusion about the outcome of a parliamentary vote on Tuesday.

Public sector dollar flow picked up on Wednesday after a quiet start to the week, as World Bank brought a four year benchmark and Tunisia sold a bond backed by the US government.

Egypt published a request for proposals for a new dollar bond on Wednesday as it works towards an agreement with the International Monetary Fund.

Republic of Ghana is still expected to open books on a five year amortising note this week, though no exact timing has been given, a lead banker said on Wednesday.

Ghana is on the road this week for its first standalone bond since 2014. The government will use the new issue to buy back its $500m 2017s as part of its push towards "smart" debt management. In a market where yield is king, bankers expect the deal to go well, despite concerns about the country's widening budget deficit.

The Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) sold a ZK104m ($10.3m) five year note to a single investor on Monday.

A group of international banks are understood be close to signing a $1.4bn project finance loan for a major oil and gas field development, expected to transform Ghana's domestic energy distribution.