BNP Paribas

Altice France leapt straight into the market after Friday’s surprise announcement that owner and founder Patrick Drahi would be taking the company private. Research from Federated Hermes shows that the credit spread premium for a private company has dropped to virtually zero for the first time in 20 years.

Hamburg Commercial Bank is getting ready to issue a new tier two capital bond with an unusual five year tenor, as part of its efforts to reconnect with investors following its privatisation in 2018.

Bank of China took yet another step this week to build China’s sustainability market by selling Asia’s first blue bond to benefit ocean-related projects — opening the door for similar deals from the region. Morgan Davis reports.

The Republic of Bulgaria issued a €2.5bn dual-tranche bond on Tuesday to support its expanding state budget, following a raft of its regional peers which are responding to the Covid-19 crisis with substantial deals.

Commerzbank and Unipol Group ‘ticked all the boxes’ with their new green senior transactions on Wednesday, amassing large orders from investors.

Geox, the Italian shoe company, has signed a €90m export credit agency backed loan, days after the company announced a business restructuring of its North American operations.

Cathay Pacific Airways is asking lenders’ consent to exercise the extension option on a 2017 loan.

Novartis, the Swiss pharmaceutical company, is set to join the nascent sustainability-linked bond market this week after mandating banks for a trade and investors will have another chance to pick up crossover rated debt in a deal from forklift truck maker Kion Group.

French agency Cades and the International Development Association returned to the dollar market for the first time since the summer break on Tuesday to bring a pair of five year socially responsible deals.

Altice France is marketing a €900m equivalent eight year bond across dollars and euros, coming hot on the heels of Friday’s announcement that Patrick Drahi, the billionaire owner of the telecoms group, was trying to take Altice Europe private.

Bank of China printed Asia’s first blue bond on Monday, with plans to use the roughly $940m raised to benefit ocean-related sustainability projects.

Bonds sold on Monday by Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group Co and property developer Logan Group Co have underperformed in the secondary market.