• Aramco: never mind the drones, feel the profits

  

  Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company of Saudi Arabia, is confident that its exceptional financial position will allow its IPO to withstand geopolitical shocks such as the drone attack on the company’s oil facilities last Saturday, write Sam Kerr, Mariam Meskin and Francesca Young.

  • 19 Sep 2019

• Shafted Sirius starts frantic search for new investors

  

  Sirius Minerals, the company that is building a giant fertiliser mine beneath the UK's North York Moors, faces up to six months of uncertainty after it failed to issue a $500m high yield bond that would have secured its financial future, and the UK government refused to provide support to the project. Karoliina Liimatainen and Aidan Gregory report.

  • 19 Sep 2019

• First block in Trainline leads busy ABB night

  

  A £285m block in Trainline, the UK the transport booking website, was covered quickly on Thursday night after a lock-up was waived on KKR and other pre-IPO shareholders.

  • 12:15 PM

• Ferretti pitched as Ferrari of the seas but must avoid Aston repeat

  

  Ferretti, the Italian manufacturer of luxury yachts, launched its long awaited IPO on Monday. Investors are being sold a story of glamour and luxury, but there are some concerns after the losses many suffered during the IPO of Aston Martin, last year’s prominent luxury listing.

  • 19 Sep 2019

• Fed and ECB happy to turn Japanese

  

  The renewed dovishness of the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank (ECB) may consign both Europe and the US to the same fate as Japan when it experienced its lost decades of stagnant growth. Central banks will find the tools they’ve used since the financial crisis have simply worn out when the next one hits.

  • 19 Sep 2019

• Budweiser back with a bang after ringing changes to IPO

  

  Budweiser Brewing Company Apac has revived its Hong Kong IPO two months after a headline-grabbing flop. But a smaller target size, a stamp of approval from a high-profile cornerstone investor and the off-loading of an unattractive chunk of its business all mean that the firm has a better chance of success this time around. Jonathan Breen reports.

  • 19 Sep 2019

• Investors fear also-rans as IPO activity rises

  

  A strong start to a pair of European IPOs has encouraged more deals into the market. But investors fear being decorated with shares that will underperform as new issuers line up.

  • 18 Sep 2019

• European equity-linked revival continues with new Ubisoft CB

  

  Ubisoft Entertainment, the French video games developer behind Far Cry and Assassins Creed, issued a five year €526m convertible bond, adding to the wave of issuance in Europe over the past fortnight.

  • 18 Sep 2019

• London Stock Exchange hires JP Morgan for HKEX defence

  

  The London Stock Exchange Group has bolstered its M&A defence team against a hostile bid from its Hong Kong rival with the appointment of JP Morgan.

  • 18 Sep 2019

• Strong start for AB InBev's second attempt at HK IPO

  

  A smaller deal size, a high-profile cornerstone investor and plenty of early engagement with investors have put Budweiser Brewing Company Apac’s second attempt at a Hong Kong IPO on solid ground.

  • 18 Sep 2019

• Aramco: how do you discount for drones?

  

  It isn't often that equity investors are asked to buy assets subjected to physical attack. The drone strikes on Saudi Arabia’s Abqaiq and Khurais oil facilities on Saturday could lead to Aramco demanding a big discount on any upcoming listing. The IPO market has suffered its fair share of geopolitical tumult of late, but this long and keenly anticipated deal could wind up being the riskiest of them all.

  • 17 Sep 2019

• Sirius Minerals shares tank after crucial bond sale fails

  

  Shares in fertilizer miner Sirius Minerals plummeted as much as 60% on Tuesday morning after the company was forced to finally pull a $500m high yield bond offering it had postponed in August.

  • 17 Sep 2019

• Soitec managers cash in on growth with €98m block

  

  A group of French semiconductor maker Soitec’s senior managers have sold €98m worth of shares that vested as part of a three year stock compensation scheme that matured earlier this year.

  • 17 Sep 2019

• RCF lines up listing as Italian ECM renaissance continues

  

  RCF, the Italian manufacturer of high performance audio equipment, is likely to launch an IPO imminently, potentially as early as next week, adding to what is expected to be a strong finish to 2019 for Italian equity capital markets.

  • 17 Sep 2019

• US companies pile into convertible bonds

  

  US firms are turning to the convertible bond market in droves in order to issue cheap debt before a potential global economic downturn.

  • 17 Sep 2019

• Banks hope for fair October winds for Zero-E listing

  

  Zero-E, the Spanish renewable energy firm, is targeting October to launch its IPO and is hoping that fair markets and growing demand for sustainable assets will propel it to success.

  • 17 Sep 2019

• Aramco banks plough on with 2019 IPO plans despite attacks

  

  Sources close to the listing of Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil producer, have confirmed that they are working flat out to bring the Saudi company to market before the end of the year, despite attacks on its oil fields over the weekend.

  • 16 Sep 2019

• Investors jump into large Zalando block trade

  

  A 13.3m share sale in Zalando, the German e-commerce company, met with strong investor interest on Monday night.

  • 17 Sep 2019

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Recent highlights

• Kaspi.kz brings more EM joy to London amid Brexit gloom

  Kaspi.kz, the Kazakh payments group, is preparing to list global depositary receipts (GDRs) on the London Stock Exchange this autumn, as EM deals provide a brief glimmer of hope for the UK capital as Brexit volatility has killed the hopes of many UK issuers.

  • 16 Sep 2019

• LSEG spurns HKEX's £32bn takeover bid

  London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has emphatically rejected the unsolicited £32bn takeover bid by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEG), with LSEG's board suggesting that the deal has profound flaws.

  • 13 Sep 2019

• EQT covers €1.2bn IPO on day one

  The €1.2bn IPO of Swedish private equity group EQT was covered throughout its price range, less than two hours into the bookbuilding process on Friday, according to market sources.

  • 13 Sep 2019

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Deals in the pipeline

• Faites vos jeux! Macron renews privatisation drive
• Spain’s ACS plans renewables IPO in autumn
• Walmart mulls flotation of Asda after blocked Sainsbury’s merger
• Mustier tight-lipped about UniCredit M&A plans after €1bn Fineco share sale
• Siemens preps power and gas spinoff in 2020
• BlackRock backs out of Carige recap, raising bailout fears
• Uzbekistan the new frontier as Central Asia privatisations lure global money
• Oligarchs flock to sell shares as Russia bid returns
• African IPOs coming to London, despite political hurdles
• Sources say small IPO of Naspers' Tencent stake possible
• Deutsche cash call to fund Commerz merger far from certain
• Traton postpones IPO after buyers balk at valuation
• Continental moves forward with powertrain unit spinoff
• Bharti Airtel names banks for Africa spin-off
• Kazakh privatisation wave kicks off with nuclear IPO
• LeasePlan pulls Amsterdam IPO amid global market sell-off
• Hassan Allam preps listing in London and Eygpt
• Schibsted to float online classifieds business
• Investec to list asset management arm
• Trade war tensions push Volvo Cars to postpone jumbo IPO
• Sibur IPO talk premature, says CFO
• Swiss Re mulls spinoff of UK closed-book life division
• Bob Diamond buys Kepler stake, IPO possible later
• EN+ sale coming as Deripaska steps back for sanctions relief
• Vodafone to try equity-neutral mando magic again
• Reit market is choppy, but don't dismiss social housing
• Sausage sliced: sanctions stall Cherkizovo IPO
• IPO window reopens to test investor sentiment with EM flavours
• Africa back in the spotlight for equity buyers
• Market loses second jumbo Swiss IPO as HNA postpones Swissport
• Belfius postpones IPO until autumn amid fears of row with government

Completed deals

• Bouygues reduces Alstom stake with jumbo €1.1bn block trade
• JP Morgan issues new €400m LVMH synthetic
• MTU Aero Engines monetises bull run with €515m convert
• Lone US fund buys €84m of Fagron shares
• Groupe Bruxelles Lambert crowns blockbuster week for European equity-linked deals
• Blockbuster night for ECM sees first sale in Network
• Sequoia braves Brexit vol with £146m capital raise
• Snap issues maiden convertible bond after share rally
• Investors sell Mondi stock after listing reorganisation
• Borr Drilling rises after listing on the New York Stock Exchange
• Synthomer closes £204m rights issue to fund US merger
• Agarwal quits Anglo-American investment after two years
• Elis block covered quickly after auction
• Worldline issues first CB at aggressive terms
• Investors book gains after first Hugo Boss block in years
• Impala tenders 'expensive' $250m CB into equity after stock rally
• Investors pile into Aroundtown's €600m growth capital raising
• Unipharm navigates tricky IPO market to raise €136m
• Voltalia raises €376m of equity capital to grow power capacity
• UniCredit finishes FinecoBank separation
• Energean wins investor acclaim with M&A bid
• Synthomer unveils £204 rights offer for US growth plans
• GFG joins Traton and Airtel in trading down
• Orange exits BT via £486m block trade
• Airtel and Traton shares fall on first day of trading