EM Polls and Awards

Suncorp-Metway waited for a window of opportunity to conduct a hybrid equity issue last year and it duly arrived in May, with the ASX in a recovery phase. The firm gained good momentum by releasing a favourable profit outlook on the first day of its road-show, and it didn’t look back.

When pharma firm CSL needed to raise cash to fund its takeover of a US rival it turned to Merrill Lynch. Acting alone, the bank rapidly built a top-quality order book for the follow-on offering. It helped that experts were so confident in the rationale of CSL’s acquisition.

CBA’s takeover of the Bank of Western Australia and St Andrew’s Australia late last year was timely, smart and sensible. The acquisition was complimentary to CBA’s business and deserves recognition for its nimbleness.

It is the composition of its lending that made Mizuho Corporate Bank stand out in 2008. It was responsible for pricing five of the year’s 10 largest transactions and took sole bookrunner positions on a number of deals.

Mizuho Securities was comfortably top of the pile in terms of overall issuance in 2008. While it raised a lot of funding for itself, it also helped many of Japan’s most prominent local borrowers to raise funding too.

Nomura has set the standard for equity issuance for years in Japan, to the point that many firms won't consider entering the market without Nomura’s name on the ticket. It was involved in four of the top 10 deal mandates in 2008 and was an easy choice for this award.

The Lion Power consortium succeeded in its acquisition of Senoko Power of Singapore by arranging a very aggressive level of debt funding in what were tumultuous credit markets after the collapse of Lehman Brothers. It was the largest acquisition debt facility for a utility deal in Asia last year and earns Asiamoney's award.

The Series 1 Filp Master Trust 1st SPC asset-backed securities issue collateralised a pool of public sector loans. Conducted in February, it was the first transaction in what promises to be a vibrant new form of securitisation in Japan.

US corporate Wal-Mart became the first retailer to tap the Samurai bond market in almost 30 years last July. With its AA credit rating it provided much-needed high-grade corporate diversification in a difficult environment. Local investor interest was strong, pricing was tight and coupons on the tranches were appealing.

Seven Bank’s debut listing was the nation's largest IPO last year. Because of the bank’s unique business model, its shares have outperformed the Japanese stock market since, impressive at a time when most bank shares have sunk amid the climate of investor fear.

Yamada Denki became the first firm in Japan to use a convertible bond to conduct a recapitalisation and share buy-back. The February offering, which has since been emulated, helped to lower company costs while creating value for existing shareholders in turbulent times.

Takeda Pharma’s acquisition of drugs-maker Millennium last May cemented it as a global force in pharmaceuticals. The deal offered a number of synergies and represented the pinnacle of a Japanese market trend.