Bank of America

Another rash of block trades appeared in the European market this evening, though not as many as yesterday’s seven. The crop of four deals was led by a trade of €350m in Belgian nappy maker Ontex, where private equity groups TPG and Goldman Sachs are selling down after its IPO in June.

Investor sentiment appears to have turned against India credits if the fate of two deals this week is anything to go by. Having extended its bookbuilding period there is still no sign of the debut from Reliance Communications while Lodha Developers is also giving investors more time to consider its trade.

China’s largest nuclear power producer, CGN Power, has priced its IPO at the top of its range to raise HK$24.5bn ($3.2bn), thanks to overwhelming demand from institutional and retail investors. But final allocations have proved a challenge, with some bankers complaining about the lack of transparency.

Shareholders in JD.com have raised $619m by selling some of their holdings in the Chinese online retailer, in a deal that was increased in size from the launch amount. There was no price sensitivity among investors, who clamoured for stock even as the share price spiked by 9% during bookbuilding.

Archi Indonesia, the gold mining arm of the Rajawali group, has pulled the plug on its Rph4.6tr ($377.68m) IPO as tumbling gold prices thwarted investors.

After many days in which bankers have wondered why more sellers were not bringing block trades to what are very strong equities markets, today a burst of deals hit the screens.

French supermarket group Groupe Casino priced a €650m ($514.37m) 10.2 year bond on Tuesday, its third issue of the year. But its credit spreads have widened a little since its last deal on July 30.

Publicis, the French advertising and PR firm, has mandated BNP Paribas and Citi to arrange a roadshow on Friday for a possible euro bond. The proceeds will be used as part of the funding for Publicis’s $3.7bn all cash acquisition of US company Sapient, announced on November 3.

Syndication for the $3.2bn portion of Tata Steel’s $5.6bn borrowing has seen about 13 banks join with nearly $940m in commitments, said a banker. Allocations for the deal are due to be out soon.

Chinese hotpot chain Xiabuxiabu Catering Management Holdings has started taking orders for its HK$1.13bn ($146m) IPO, with the company being pitched at a discount to its peers.

India’s largest residential property company Lodha Developers is in the market for its debut offshore bond, having started receiving orders on December 2.

CGN Power has closed books a day earlier than scheduled after seeing massive oversubscription for its HK24.52bn ($3.16bn) IPO, with pricing now likely to be done overnight.