Bank of America

Rating: Aaa/AAA

Rating: Aaa/AAA/AAA

A trio of top tier SSA names nipped through a narrow issuance window at the start of the week to launch tightly priced dollar benchmarks.

The grins on the faces of Werner Baumann and Hugh Grant, chief executives of Bayer and Monsanto, look genuine enough. The deal they have struck could catapult Baumann to head of the world’s leading agribusiness company and net Grant a reported $226m.

Shares in Informa, the UK publishing and events company, closed 6% higher on Thursday after it launched a fully underwritten £715m rights issue to partially finance its £1.18bn takeover of Penton, the New York-based information services and business-to-business publisher, in a transatlantic deal which the company says will expand its reach in the global exhibitions industry.

Postal Savings Bank of China and its potential HK$62.7bn ($8.1bn) IPO got off to a roaring start due to hedge fund demand. Oversubscribed on day one, it is on track to be the world’s largest IPO in two years. But an order book so far dominated by regional names is about to get a lot more global as management leaves Hong Kong for roadshows in the UK and US. Jonathan Breen reports.

Excitement is building around ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co’s long-awaited IPO in India, with bankers having predicted a blow-out response even before it launches next week. The deal will not only be India’s first listing from the insurance sector, but also the country’s largest IPO in six years. John Loh reports.

State Bank of India (SBI) succeeded in pricing the first offshore Basel III additional tier one (AT1) offering from an Indian name this week, but a bullish pricing strategy meant orders were muted and it has struggled in secondary. Despite the glitches, many believe the deal has set an important benchmark, writes Addison Gong.

Russia’s EuroChem will sign a five year loan imminently. The refinancing sees the fertiliser producer aiming for tighter margins than its last post-sanctions loan, said two bankers close to the deal.

Winsconsin’s Spectrum Brands, the consumer products conglomerate ended a two day roadshow on Wednesday with the sale of euro notes that will repay dollar bonds, an uncommon transaction in the euro market.

Peru's finance minister, Alfredo Thorne, will be among the representatives as the country carries out a week-long roadshow starting on Monday ahead of a planned sol-denominated bond issue.

The African Development Bank has printed a $1bn no-grow to, it is thought, cap off the week's flurry SSA dollar bonds before primary markets dry up ahead of the US rates decision next week.