Bank of America

UK petrol station operator EG Group launched a jumbo leveraged loan facility on Thursday, totalling €3.5bn-equivalent, to finance its acquisition of Esso sites in Italy and Germany. Bank meetings are due to be wrapped up by the end of this week.

Only a single issuer came to market in euros on Thursday. In what a banker away from the deal referred to as “good traffic control”, Austria had the market to itself for a €4bn 10 year.

The International Finance Corporation on Thursday offered a solid helping of three year supply to a dollar market that has so far this year been dominated by five year issuance. The issuer was rewarded with a well oversubscribed book, with bankers away from the deal suggesting central banks would have played a large part.

Investec Bank plc, the South African bank’s UK branch, is expected to sign a loan to refinance a $300m facility signed in 2015.

Leveraged loans have dominated leveraged buyout financing in recent months, but high yield bonds could be poised for a comeback, say European investors. Crown Holdings, the US can maker, added to early signs of optimism with its new €1.5bn cross-border bond offering this week, writes Victor Jimenez.

Russian fertiliser producer PhosAgro placed the first Russian corporate bond of the year on Wednesday, securing a coupon of below 4%.

A receptive market and generous pricing worked in favour of China’s Concord New Energy Group and Indonesia’s Sawit Sumbermas Sarana (SSMS) this week, as both managed to pull off debut dollar bonds two months after failed attempts. Morgan Davis reports.

Dollar SSA deals are showing little signs of a hangover from a public holiday in the US on Monday, with all three of Wednesday’s trades well over subscribed and pricing inside guidance.

PhosAgro, a Russian phosphate-based fertiliser company, has released price guidance for a $500m 5.25 year bond that a banker away from the deal and an investor are calling “fair”.

China’s Concord New Energy Group and Indonesia’s Sawit Sumbermas Sarana (SSMS) sold their first dollar bonds on Tuesday, successfully completing transactions that were stymied just two months ago.

The World Bank is set to become the latest public sector borrower to visit the sterling market, following the European Investment Bank’s £1bn trade on Tuesday.

A widening in dollar swap spreads since the end of last week should help support a trio of dollar deals on screens for Wednesday’s business, said SSA bankers.