Americas

Convertible bonds are continuing to attract more mainstream attention, following dramatic outperformance of the asset class over the past year. This is driving new investors to the market.

HH&L Acquisition Corp has bagged $360m after increasing the size of its New York Stock Exchange IPO, in yet another sign that Asia-focused blank cheque companies are surging in popularity.

Argentine oil and gas company YPF amended its proposed bond exchange for the fourth time on Sunday evening, again upping the cash payment for holders of its March 2021s in a move that the issuer says has the support of the most stubborn group of bondholders.

This week in Keeping Tabs: do investors want companies to fail on sustainability-linked bond targets? And what what happens to the economy under a Joe Biden presidency in the US?

Huge demand for exposure to biotech companies among US equity investors is continuing to drive UK firms to list on the other side of the Atlantic through an IPO on the Nasdaq. On Thursday, Immunocore, a late-stage biotech firm focused on T-cell technology, priced an enlarged offering on the exchange and, on Friday, UK healthcare investor Syncona announced it was exploring a US IPO for one of its portfolio companies.

Peruvian government-owned oil company Petroperu clinched most of the remaining financing of the long-awaited modernisation of its Talara refinery on Thursday, opting to reopen bonds first issued three years ago at a high dollar price rather than place a new benchmark.

Brazilian auto parts supplier Tupy and Peruvian mining company Volcán became the latest in a string of Latin American high yield companies to take advantage of extremely welcoming bond markets to improve their maturity profiles.

Bonds issued by Argentine oil and gas company YPF were up and down this week before ending largely flat as the company failed to find a consensus among investors regarding its proposed exchange offer. A March 23 maturity payment looms large.

Apple printed the biggest US corporate bond so far this year, as companies roared out of earnings blackouts this week to lock in cheap financing.

The Province of Alberta made a rare appearance in the Kangaroo market on Wednesday, printing A$100m with a February 2046 bond. Daiwa Capital Markets ran the books.

Goldman Sachs is trying to steal a march on rivals as it looks to turbo-charge its European business by leading the listings of the region’s most vibrant start-ups, writes David Rothnie.

Morgan Stanley swung by the euro market this week to raise €1.75bn of new senior debt. The move was unexpected given that pricing for international issuers remains more favourable in dollars.