Americas

Grant Thornton LLP, the US affiliate of the international accounting firm, is raising money via the private placement market for the first time in almost 20 years, according to market sources. Grant Thornton LLP follows into the market the US arms of Deloitte, KPMG and PwC, who have each raised PPs in the past three months.

Envestnet Inc, the US provider of software to the wealth management industry, has raised $450m via the sale of a new convertible bond, joining the horde of software companies that have tapped the equity-linked market during the pandemic.

The government of Bermuda turned to bond markets for the first time since November 2018 on Monday, raising $1.35bn of new notes to repay debt and fund fiscal spending including Covid-19 measures.

Futu Holdings, parent of Hong Kong-based brokerage Futu Securities, has kicked off bookbuilding for a follow-on of primary stock.

A group of bondholders holding more than a quarter of the Province of Neuquén’s senior secured bonds said on Friday that they “categorically” reject the Argentine regional government’s restructuring proposal.

This week in Keeping Tabs: whether investors are prepared for the impact of a Joe Biden win on environmental policy, how bond and syndicated loan markets diverged in the crisis, and a crypto app that tanked.

Germany’s CureVac has gone public on the Nasdaq, joining the army of biotech companies that have tapped the equity capital markets for cash during the pandemic, despite growing concern of a brewing dot-com style bubble.

Central American sovereign Belize said this week that more than three-quarters of its bondholders supported its proposal to capitalise its next three bond payments. The Covid-19 pandemic is battering the country’s tourism-reliant economy.

Two Latin American corporates sold dollar bonds this week, but market participants said August is mostly as quiet as expected, as focus turns to potential September supply.

Real money investors have historically avoided the reputational risk involved in participating in sovereign debt restructurings. But a truly socially responsible investor should embrace these situations — for the sake of both their clients and troubled emerging nations.

Soaring demand and tight spreads lured repeat borrowers as summer dollar bond supply soared with $34bn of new issuance crammed into four days.

CME Group is making a play for the volatility derivatives market. On Thursday it announced a new futures contract that will reference the Nasdaq 100 volatility index.