CEE Bonds

Empik Media & Fashion (EMF Group) has postponed the sale of €240m of notes due to adverse market conditions, even though the firm had already set price talk at 8.5%-8.75% on the projected deal.

Sberbank, the largest of Russia’s state owned banks has been included on the list of EU sanctioned entities, shocking some investors who had hoped the sanctions would be limited to policy banks. But although the identities of the institutions sanctioned were clear enough, bankers are now deciphering just what it is they are not allowed to do for them.

The Russia-Ukraine crisis has risen from its slumber in a roaring angry temper. Russia’s next recovery in the capital markets may not be as quick or as painless.

Play, the Polish wireless telecoms firm, issued a €415m payment-in-kind toggle bond on Wednesday inside price guidance.

Sanctioned Russian development bank Vnesheconombank is hopeful that syndicated loans will not be included in the list of sanctions, and in bonds it could look to turn to the Chinese renminbi or Russian domestic market for funding, said one source at the bank.

Play, the Polish wireless telecoms firm, is looking to raise €415m through a payment-in-kind toggle bond.

VTB Capital maintained that it will not be impacted by the latest round of EU and US sanctions with one source at the bank claiming that the restrictions only limit the raising of new financing by the investment bank's parent company, VTB group. But others were not so certain and VTB bonds widened another 40bp on Wednesday morning.

Russian DCM desks are reeling from the impact of the EU and US’s latest sanctions but investors are weighing up opportunities in scarce issues and unsanctioned names as some bonds even rallied on Wednesday morning.

Polish retailer Empik Media & Fashion (EMF Group) is planning to issue €240m of six year senior secured bonds. Standard & Poors has assigned a preliminary rating of single B to the issue.

Latvian short term finance company 4Finance has mandated Credit Suisse to arrange 144A/Reg S bond. When it prints, it will be the first time a non-sovereign Latvian issuer has tapped the international markets for seven years.

Loans bankers are looking for silver linings in the imminent prospect of deeper Western sanctions against Russia. At least the market has shut down in August, when Russians take their summer holidays. No deals would have been done anyway, so no matter. But the situation will not be over by the autumn, and August is not the listless month many market participants assume.

Gazprombank, which is subject to US sanctions as of two weeks ago, held a series of meetings in Seoul with fixed income investors on 24 and 25 July, arranged by KDB Daewoo Securities. Russia was dealt a blow on Monday from elsewhere on the continent though as Japan announced that new sanctions on the country would be released shortly.