Americas

Mizuho has hired another banker as part of its expansion in West Coast investment banking. The bank has been building out its tech team in its San Francisco office, but has now hired for healthcare investment banking as well.

French dough maker Cérélia has launched a €345m loan package for its acquisition of Canadian cookie and muffin maker English Bay Batter, joining UK nurseries firm Busy Bees in signing a roll-up acquisition.

Pampa Energía, the fast growing Argentine energy company, is looking to sell $500m of convertible bonds in an extremely rare structure for a Latin American issuer.

Less than a month after it removed the negative outlook on Brazil’s Ba2 rating, Moody’s has edged state-owned oil giant Petrobras closer to the double-B territory it occupies with other rating agencies.

Telenor, the Norwegian telecoms company, has sold a 4% stake in Veon, the Russian telco formerly called VimpelCom, for $262.5m through a block trade.

Brazilian energy company Petrobras has kicked off global syndication for a $1bn facility, which it is borrowing through its overseas arm Petrobras Netherlands.

A German MEP reignited the explosive topic of London-based euro clearing on Tuesday, proclaiming that “EU citizens decide on their own money.” A move to force euro clearing to take place inside the eurozone could raise the cost of derivatives collateral and damage risk management, lawyers warned, as well as denting the City's position as a financial centre. Costas Mourselas and Jean Comte reports.

After a glut of provincial supply, investors were treated to a debut Argentine corporate this week, as three other Latin American corporates brought deals.

Rating: Aa2/A+/AA-

Corporate earnings blackout throttled new supply in the dollar market, which was limited to supply from a handful of lesser known names, amid concerns about the strength of the deal pipeline.

The global head of private credit at KKR has left the firm — despite its filing documents for a third ‘Lending Partners’ fund this week, suggesting it is raising another direct lending vehicle.

The heads of funding at DNB Boligkreditt and Royal Bank of Canada told delegates at this week’s IMN conference that investors are well protected from a potential fall in house prices. UK covered bonds are similarly resilient, said a director at Fitch Ratings. And even in a hard Brexit, the privileged position of covered bonds would be upheld by UK courts, said a partner at Clifford Chance.