Bank of America

LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton SE, the French luxury goods group, and Comcast, the US telecoms company, brought the European corporate bond market’s two biggest multi-tranche issues of the year on Wednesday, each hitting sterling and euros and blasting aside fears around coronavirus epidemic’s economic impact. LVMH raised €9.33bn, and Comcast €4.6bn.

Avenue Supermarts, which runs Indian supermarket chain DMart, has launched a qualified institutional placement worth about Rp40bn ($561.3m).

UPC, part of Liberty Global’s European telecoms empire, is marketing dollar and euro term loan ‘B’s to pay off a $1.14bn issue of 5.375% senior secured notes. The refinancing comes only a few months after Sunrise cancelled its takeover of UPC’s Swiss business — to the disappointed of Liberty.

Essity, the hygiene and health products company spun off by Sweden's SCA in 2017, slipped into the bond market with a €300m no-grow 10 year issue on Tuesday. The issuer was estimated to have paid a low single digit new issue premium.

UK defence company BAE Systems announced its biggest acquisition for more than a decade this week, spurring hopes for a wave of UK M&A now the Brexit endgame is in sight.

Private equity firms are looking at different ways of monetising their investments, rather than the usual IPO routes, as regulation makes smaller firms less viable in the public markets. Alternative capital providers outside the usual buyout community are also boosting their allocations to private assets.

There was a burst of activity from Chinese pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the equity capital markets this week, as the sector took centre stage following the spread of a flu-like virus that has already claimed lives on the mainland. Jonathan Breen reports.

Hengda Real Estate Group Co, a subsidiary of China Evergrande Group, raised $4bn across two tranches on Tuesday, just days after Evergrande nabbed $2bn from another bond sale.

Three companies from the Greater China region sealed bonds on Tuesday, likely to be the last batch of issuers to tap the debt market before the Chinese New Year break begins. No Asian borrowers launched dollar deals on Wednesday.

Chinese biopharmaceutical company Zai Lab has kicked off a follow-on offering of its American Depository Shares. It is aiming to raise around $300m.

FCA Bank launched a €750m two year bond on Tuesday that was increased to €850m and three times subscribed, as syndicate desks prepared for a lacklustre few weeks in the corporate primary market.

Four Chinese borrowers hit the dollar bond market on Thursday, competing with supply from India, Indonesia and the Philippines.