
High Grade
Deutsche Bahn turns screws on sterling spread
Deutsche Bahn, the German state railway company, launched a £300m bond at a wafer thin spread on Wednesday, but investor demand still more than twice covered the deal.
Deutsche Bahn, the German state railway company, launched a £300m bond at a wafer thin spread on Wednesday, but investor demand still more than twice covered the deal.
BlackRock wants to move a long way towards catching up with leading investors in its response to climate change, its CEO Larry Fink indicated in his annual letter to chief executives on Tuesday. BlackRock stopped short of setting a net zero carbon emissions target for its $8.7tr of assets under management, or committing to swift decarbonisation. But it did publish a ‘net zero commitment’ saying it would “support the goal of net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner”.
Corporate bond bankers in Europe are convinced that hybrid capital issuance will continue this year at a similar blistering pace to 2020, despite some deals so far having had tepid demand.
Direct lenders and debt funds have always pitched themselves as closer partners for businesses than banks, bondholders, or other institutional lenders. When the going gets tough, they can move faster to waive covenants and offer new money than a less concentrated creditor group. But this so called partnership also puts them in pole position to take the keys when things go wrong — which we may see happen this year.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone managed to seal its $500m 10 year deal inside fair value on Tuesday, despite investor concerns about the company's environmental and social record.
Container ABS thrived last year, setting a new issuance record after two decades. Several factors are working in favor of container ABS this year as well, including increased consumption of goods and an opportunity for containers to be used in vaccine distribution.
Anglo-German travel and tourism group TUI has completed its heavily discounted €544m rights issue, which is part of a bailout of the company.
A number of smaller UK housing associations are preparing to launch private placements, after a month of next to no dealflow.
UK broadband company TalkTalk is marketing an add-on to its existing high yield notes, raising new term debt to pay down its revolver. The company is subject to a takeover bid from Toscafund and Penta Capital, which will leave the existing bonds in place, but grant them security, as well as layering in extra leverage with a PIK toggle from Ares.
GMR Hyderabad International Airport swooped into the bond market on Tuesday for $300m, adding money to its coffers ahead of an expectation of a revival in passenger growth.
Container ABS thrived last year, setting a new issuance record after two decades. Several factors are working in favor of container ABS this year as well, including increased consumption of goods and an opportunity for containers to be used in vaccine distribution.
Corporate bond bankers in Europe are convinced that hybrid capital issuance will continue this year at a similar blistering pace to 2020, despite some deals so far having had tepid demand.
BlackRock wants to move a long way towards catching up with leading investors in its response to climate change, its CEO Larry Fink indicated in his annual letter to chief executives on Tuesday. BlackRock stopped short of setting a net zero carbon emissions target for its $8.7tr of assets under management, or committing to swift decarbonisation. But it did publish a ‘net zero commitment’ saying it would “support the goal of net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner”.
Direct lenders and debt funds have always pitched themselves as closer partners for businesses than banks, bondholders, or other institutional lenders. When the going gets tough, they can move faster to waive covenants and offer new money than a less concentrated creditor group. But this so called partnership also puts them in pole position to take the keys when things go wrong — which we may see happen this year.
Three Chinese property companies announced dollar bond transactions on Monday, continuing the run of issuance seen from the high yield market since the beginning of the year.
Indonesia's Tower Bersama Infrastructure took an aggressive pricing approach to a tap of its dollar bond on Monday. But when investor response fell short of expectations, the issuer was forced to pull its fundraising.
German car part maker Stabilus began marketing a Schuldschein on Monday, as many consider whether the automotive sector should be back on investors' buy lists.
Europe’s corporate bond investors had the chance to pick up some paper from the hairier end of their credit spectrum as this week began, with Portuguese power company Energias de Portugal and Swedish housing firm Heimstaden Bostad out with hybrid capital issues.
Airline bonds have sold off in the secondary market as the industry faces another wave of new restrictions to combat Covid-19 variants.
Hellman & Friedman is looking to refinance the capital structure of portfolio company TeamSystem, as part of the sale of the firm from its seventh fund to its ninth, a transfer also recently completed by Verisure. Unlike Verisure, the fund switch isn’t accompanied by a monster dividend payment to the new fund, but the new deal will still jack up leverage levels.
India's Future Retail failed to make an interest payment on its dollar bonds last Friday, making it the second time it has missed a coupon on its debut notes as it struggles to overcome Covid-related woes.
Three of the most active banks in financing oil exports from the Ecuadorian Amazon — an environmentally destructive industry with a long track record of trampling on indigenous people’s rights — have agreed to cease important parts of their financial support, after pressure from NGOs and a devastating oil spill in 2020.
China's Avic International Holding Corp had to offer investors a premium for its latest dollar bond, to compensate them for the risk associated with its inclusion on a US sanctions list.
A cross-party group of UK members of Parliament has written to Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, calling on the Bank to start greening its quantitative easing and Covid support programmes.
Power Finance Corp netted $500m from a bond that was printed at a negative new issue premium, but still attracted investors for the yield it offered compared to peers.
Chinese property developer Sunac China Holdings has managed to reprice its secondary curve by raising $1.1bn from tightly priced bonds.
Europe’s high grade corporate bond investors are sounding the alarm that parts of the market are starting to look frothy, as the European Central Bank on Thursday gave no indication of any slowdown in its relentless bond buying programme. Mike Turner reports.
Companies in the same sector often copy each other, but this year's string of bond issues by aircraft lessors has been exceptional, and is prompted by the sector's credit rehabilitation. Air Lease Corp took the recovery past a new milestone this week.
Mark Soriano joins Natixis — Deutsche's Frazer Ross is taking a sabbatical — Fidelity hires private credit team
Several industries once popular with direct lenders have struggled to cope through the coronavirus. Now, direct lenders say they have toughened terms for borrowers from these sectors.
Tesco, the UK grocer, made a storming debut in the nascent sustainability-linked bond market on Wednesday, encouraging bankers who already expect corporate issuance using the novel structure to rocket this year.
Swiss franc bond investors are pursuing high quality issues, with Münchener Hypothekenbank harnessing this demand to price a tap of its green preferred senior bond 12bp through fair value this week.
A trio of European corporate issuers brought bond deals on Thursday, shrugging off the potential distraction of a European Central Bank meeting.
Barclays took out the bridge financing for TowerBrook and Warburg Pincus’s takeover of UK roadside assistance group The AA on Wednesday, selling a £280m five year bond at 6.5%.
Italian facility management company Rekeep signalled market appetite for the spicier end of high yield this week, issuing a €350m five year non-call two at 7.25%. This will trim the company’s sky high funding costs, paying for the redemption of its 9% 2022s.
Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, the Belgian investment holding company, found a warm response from the bond market on Thursday, despite the potential distractions of a European Central Bank meeting being held on the same day.
Two issuers spotted a window on Thursday for opportunistic high yield issues, as the Crossover index had tightened 9bp on Wednesday and there was a firm tone in other risk assets. Italian construction group Webuild launched a €150m tap of its 2025 note, launched in December, while Balkan telco United Group reopened its 2027s for €100m.
Santander reckons it can harness the power of hydrogen to boost its standing in corporate and investment banking, building on its ESG credentials in similar way to how rivals built supremacy during the internet boom, writes David Rothnie.
Utilities Acea and United Utilities Water romped home with ESG-themed bonds in euros and sterling on Thursday. Bankers said investor demand for socially conscious assets was swelling.
RBC Capital Markets has reorganised its European equity capital markets and corporate broking business following the decision of Darrell Uden to step down at the end of this month.
Investors have enthusiastically backed a €4.6bn financing package for Ineos Quattro, funding the integration of BP’s aromatics and acetyls business into the chemicals conglomerate. Strong demand allowed the company to raise more secured debt than expected, cutting funding costs, and strip out a bank-targeted term loan ‘A’ in favour of a bigger, cheaper, institutional term loan ‘B’.
A new era has begun in the US, with the swearing in of Joe Biden as president. For America and the rest of the world it is a sea change in leadership style and political substance.
Macau casino operator SJM Holdings generated a $10bn-plus book for its $1bn debut bond this week, despite tight pricing and the lack of US investors. Its credit profile, the transaction’s timing and a comprehensive marketing strategy worked in its favour.
SK Battery America sold a $1bn green bond this week, overcoming hurdles involving concerns about recent downgrades, and a legal battle with a competitor. Morgan Davis reports.
Government-owned Korea Southern Power Co marketed a green bond to dollar buyers on Wednesday, netting $450m from the trade.
KKR has appointed a new partner to help manage its private credit business.
European and US direct lending’s insatiable rise to relevance has so far not brought with it a push towards sustainable finance. But this year may be different, as certain private debt funds are setting out ESG blueprints for others to follow.
Direct lenders and debt funds have always pitched themselves as closer partners for businesses than banks, bondholders, or other institutional lenders. When the going gets tough, they can move faster to waive covenants and offer new money than a less concentrated creditor group. But this so called partnership also puts them in pole position to take the keys when things go wrong — which we may see happen this year.
European and US direct lending’s insatiable rise to relevance has so far not brought with it a push towards sustainable finance. But this year may be different, as certain private debt funds are setting out ESG blueprints for others to follow.
Supermarket Income REIT, a UK grocery property investment trust, has signed an £80m revolving credit facility, as the real estate sector continues to pile on debt.
Corporate bond bankers in Europe are convinced that hybrid capital issuance will continue this year at a similar blistering pace to 2020, despite some deals so far having had tepid demand.