BNP Paribas

French engineering and construction services firm Spie this week cut margins on its €625m 4.5m year bullet term loan E and let another bank onto its arranging ticket.

Louis Dreyfus Commodities Metals Suisse, a subsidiary of Louis Dreyfus Commodities, has signed an $800m dual tranche loan with a group of 46 banks.

Terna, the Italian electricity transmission system operator, signed a €750m credit facility last week. And more activity is expected soon in the Italian corporate loan market.

Market participants have been buying put options on the euro against the Swiss franc as potential quantitative easing from the European Central Bank could signal some downward movement in spot on the currency pair, raising speculation over the Swiss National Bank's floor at Sfr1.20.

Gamesa, the Spanish wind turbine manufacturer, has signed a €750m syndicated revolver with a single bullet repayment in December 2019. The banks are the same as those on Gamesa’s loan signed in March, except for Bankia, which is no longer participating.

Swedish power company Vattenfall has signed a €2bn five year revolving credit facility with 15 banks, with strong support from its banking syndicate.

BNP Paribas Investment Partners (BNPP IP), the asset management arm of of the French bank, has opened a subsidiary in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (FTZ), to complement its two branches there and its existing onshore joint venture.

BNP Paribas has appointed Peter Kwok as chief executive officer of BNPP (China) on the back of rising demand from clients in China for sophisticated financial services. Kwok’s new role will take effect from December 11.

GTech, the Italian gambling equipment maker, has further reduced its bridge facility for the acquisition of US competitor International Game Technology, down to $6bn.

Shanghai-listed textile dye maker Zhejiang Longsheng Group (Lonsen) has raised a $300m loan from a club of seven banks, said a banker on the deal.

A $3.2bn piece of Tata Steel’s $5.6bn multi-trancher has attracted a whopping $1.089bn in commitments during general syndication. The response follows a successful senior phase, which saw eight banks pile in.

Danish telecoms firm TDC, which acquired Norwegian cable provider Get in October, is reported to be planning another acquisition in the cable sector. TDC will need to carefully consider acquisition financing options to maintain its investment grade status, said credit analysts.