Barclays

Rating: Aaa/AAA/AAA

Greece’s olive branches to its creditors failed to impress sovereign DCM and syndicate bankers and investors this week as its bonds were routed once again. But the fortunes of the Hellenic Republic — the first eurozone country to seek a bail-out — were in stark contrast to those of the first country to leave one as Ireland sold a triumphant debut 30 year benchmark.

SIG Combibloc has followed Altice's recent example by demonstrating the European market’s keen appetite for large leveraged M&A deals. SIG has tightened pricing on the loans in its €2.8bn deal and replaced some of the deal's bonds with loans.

Swansea Bay tidal lagoon — APRR — Esmalglass — Danube Foods

Italy’s Servizi Assicurativi del Commercio Estero (SACE) made a last minute appearance in last week’s primary FIG market, pricing a €500m perpetual non-call 10 year subordinated bond at 25bp lower yield than where initial price thoughts were set despite uncertain secondary markets and an ostensible lack of comparables.

Chinese tech firm Tencent Holdings made its eagerly anticipated return to the dollar bond market on February 4 with a $2bn dual tranche offering that drew a frantic response from investors. That resulted in an 8.5 times covered book, which the issuer was able to leverage to price inside its rival Alibaba.

Barclays is seeking a stronger footing in Asia Pacific ECM, with the creation of a new role of head of blocks origination. The bank has struggled to make headway in terms of market share in the region, but its strong Japanese franchise, accompanied by its new emphasis on the more profitable blocks business, shows the firm is moving in the right direction, reports Rashmi Kumar.

Reliance Industries tapped the dollar bond market for the second time in two weeks, raising $750m from a 30 year bond on February 3. Even though it was not by design, having the deal come at a later stage proved to be a masterstroke as Reliance was able to achieve some top notch pricing.

The Export-Import Bank of India (India Exim) launched a 5.5 year US dollar offering on February 4. The quasi-sovereign credit attracted such strong demand from investors that the regular issuer barely paid new issue premium despite a competitive backdrop.

Wizz Air, the Hungarian budget airline, has announced its intention to float in London, seven months after its previous, failed IPO.

The European high yield market on Tuesday keenly accepted the first triple-C rated deals of the year: a buyout financing bond from Swiss carton maker SIG Combibloc and a refinancing issue for Norske Skog, the paper company.

Esmalglass, a Spanish producer of ceramic glazes and inkjet inks, is seeking a €250m loan to refinance acquisition debt.