Barclays

This week has not looked like anyone’s ideal opportunity for issuing corporate bonds in Europe, especially a challenging debut hybrid with a speculative grade rating. But Akelius, the Swedish housing company, saw a chance and pushed ahead.

Galliford Try, the UK construction company, has revealed the terms for the £157m ($221.1m) rights issue which it announced in mid-February to cover the costs of Carillion’s collapse.

European levfin investors are optimistic as the market heads into the Easter break, with buyers enjoying better pricing and terms even as issuers prepare to launch a fresh bout of speculative grade paper over the next few weeks.

John Laing Group, the UK infrastructure projects company, has closed its £210m ($295.74m) rights issue after the deal attracted substantial interest.

JD Sports, the UK casualwear company, is set to break into the US market by buying Finish Line for around $558m. The acquisition will be financed in the loan market.

UK property company Hammerson has signed a new £1.5bn three year revolving credit facility, bringing in a dozen banks for a financing aimed at slashing the funding costs of its acquisition target, Intu.

Anheuser-Busch InBev timed a $10bn multi-trancher to perfection this week as it jumped into the market to extend maturities ahead of the Federal Reserve’s rate interest rate hike.

Jes Staley opened up this week, explaining why Barclays has taken a contrarian bet to dedicate more balance sheet to the markets division of its investment bank this year.

The auto finance arm of General Motors opted for short maturities to try to ensure the success of its first bond sale of 2018, but the €1bn dual-tranche deal only received orders of €1.7bn and the lead managers were only able to tighten one of the tranches from initial price thoughts.

Glencore, the Swiss-based mining and commodities group, issued a $500m seven year equity-neutral convertible bond on Tuesday that achieved terms described as very aggressive. It attracted around 100 investors, including a couple of sovereign wealth funds.

Watford Community Housing has raised £200m from a mixture of loan facilities and private debt. Housing association transactions have been “keeping PP agents busy” in a quieter month in the sterling private placement market.

After wrapping up investor meetings on Monday, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank has opened books on a new five year dollar deal, offering around 30bp premium in order to attract investors in a "shakier market.”