Europe

Sirius Minerals, the London-listed miner, has won investor support for the equity leg of a $2.8bn financing project that will fund the largest polyhalite mine in the world.

Hamburg Commercial Bank is set to meet with investors from May 6 to explore the possibility of selling its first ever preferred senior bond in euros. Onlooking bankers expect a positive reception for the German lender, which used to be known as HSH Nordbank.

The euro covered bond market is ‘wide open’ for any UK bank following a successful transaction this week from Yorkshire Building Society (YBS) and before that, Lloyds Bank. This supply could also provide a vital stepping stone to the first UK senior deal in euros this year, said bankers.

Metro Bank’s first quarter trading update, published on Wednesday, revealed that commercial depositors pulled cash out of the bank after the January trading update that stunned capital market participants. Metro is looking to raise equity in the next two months, before issuing £500m of tier two debt later in the year.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group was marketing a long-dated senior bond in the dollar market on Thursday, copying Barclay’s choice of currency with its first deal after results.

UK security and outsourcing company G4S has sold roughly $350m of US private placements with seven and 10 year maturities, as the market shows it still has an appetite for UK support services.

Finablr has set a range on its London IPO, valuing the business at a more conservative multiple than many had expected when the roadshow began. That will please prospective buyers, some of whom were also impressed with an appearance from the company’s billionaire owner, BR Shetty.

Allegro, the Polish e-commerce platform, is raising Z2bn (€470m) in a dividend recapitalisation, according to bankers. The deal, one of the biggest CEE loans in this year’s pipeline, is being led by three local and international lenders, although some market participants said the Polish banks would be capable of providing all the money.

Stephanie Sfakianos, BNPP’s head of sustainable capital markets, is retiring from BNP Paribas after 15 years with the bank.

BASF’s oil and gas unit Wintershall and rival DEA have completed their merger, creating the largest independent oil and gas company in Europe, paving the way for a blockbuster IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 2020.

For all its woes, Deutsche Bank’s corporate finance business has much to play for in EMEA, writes David Rothnie.

Sirius Minerals, the London-listed miner, has won investor support in the equity financing leg of its new $2.8bn phase two project financing to fund the development of what is intended to be the largest polyhalite mine in the world in the North York Moors near Whitby.