Citi

Two block trades of around $1bn went well on Thursday night, as GlaxoSmithKline sold half its remaining 12.4% stake in Johannesburg-listed Aspen Pharmacare, while private equity funds shed the last chunk of ISS, the Danish cleaning firm.

Aareal Bank this week became the second German issuer this year to price a US dollar denominated Reg S Pfandbrief. It follows the lead of LBBW which priced a similar deal two weeks ago. Though the actual funding converted back to euros will have been nominally higher than what it could have achieved in euros, savings will have been made on swaps costs.

A tricky secondary market was unable to derail the new issue pipeline in senior this week, with new deals selling well even as their predecessors underperformed.

Two block trades have gone well tonight, as GlaxoSmithKline has sold half its 12.4% stake in Johannesburg-listed Aspen Pharmacare, while private equity funds have sold the last chunk of ISS, the Danish cleaning firm.

Montenegro priced a €500m bond late on Thursday afternoon in London, printing its largest ever bond, though stuck with a five year tenor.

Vattenfall, the Swedish state energy company, has issued €1.65bn equivalent of hybrid bonds in Swedish kronor and euros.

Banco Sabadell may issue up to €2.4bn of new capital if it bids for TSB, the UK bank. But the amount may be as little as €1bn, as TSB has spare capital.

Montenegro is offering an appropriate 25bp premium at price talk for its new five year Eurobond, according to bankers.

Malaysia’s state owned oil and gas company Petroliam Nasional (Petronas) broke records this week when it priced the largest G3 bond from a southeast Asian corporate. Choosing aggressive pricing over a bigger size, the issuer opted to settle for raising $5bn with the four tranche deal, lower than the expected size of $6bn-$7bn, writes Narae Kim.

Bulgaria has finally announced roadshow dates for its new Eurobond. The mandate was first announced on the country's Ministry of Finance’s website in early February.

Dutch insurer NN Group enjoyed a favourable reception for its debut senior print on Wednesday, shaking off any concerns about a weaker secondary market to attract a comfortable oversubscription.

The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (Socar) has released price guidance for a 15 year benchmark dollar bond, having completed its roadshow on Tuesday.