Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)

Nitrogénművek found demand at the second time of asking on Friday, raising €200m with a seven year note after first attempting to bring a deal last year.

Shares in Vivo Energy, the African fuel distributor, rose more than 3% on its first day of trading on the London Stock Exchange on Friday, after its £558m IPO attracted substantial demand.

The gloom over Russian capital markets was lifted a little this week as the US Treasury softened its stance towards sanctioned aluminium behemoth Rusal, giving hope to markets that the announcement of new sanctions against Russia at the beginning of April may not have been a knockout blow, write Sam Kerr, Francesca Young and Mike Turner.

Hungarian fertiliser company Nitrogénművek has released initial price guidance for its €200m seven year non-call three bond.

Turkey’s Garanti Bank has wrapped up its springtime loan refinancing, raising $1.4bn-equivalent and continuing the pricing trend seen among peers in recent weeks.

Sanctioned Russian aluminium company Rusal’s $500m 4.85% 2023s are once again trading and holders are expecting a rocky ride as compliance departments clash with analysts over their worth.

Lenders to Rusal, the sanctions-hit Russian aluminium company, may escape the situation without losing money if they can hold their nerve, loans bankers said this week.

Hungarian fertiliser company Nitrogénművek has completed a roadshow ahead of an expected €200m seven year non-call three Reg S/144A bond. It is expecting to price the deal “as early as tomorrow [Thursday]”.

The US Treasury, through the Office of Foreign Assets Control, has issued a new licence to US holders of debt or equity in EN+, Rusal and Gaz Group. It gives US persons until June 6 to divest their holdings in these companies, instead of the original deadline of May 7.

News last Friday from the London Stock Exchange (LSE) that Oleg Deripaska is set to give up his control of Rusal by removing his majority stake in EN+ (Rusal’s parent) is the best possible outcome at this point for the US, for Russia, and for investors.

Energo Pro, a hydro power plant operator and electricity distributor in Bulgaria, Georgia and Turkey, opened books for its €250m bond issue at 4.5%-4.75% on Friday, higher than the low to mid-4% it originally indicated.

Mining company Polymetal has converted an existing $80m bilateral credit facility with ING into a sustainability-linked loan. It is the first loan market activity from Russia since the US announced a fresh round of sanctions against some of the country’s oligarchs.