Europe

Blowout books helped NIBC Bank crank in the pricing by 50bp for its first ever non-preferred senior transaction on Tuesday, with the Dutch lender eyeing a ratings upgrade as a result of its work to build out a stack of debt for the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL).

Young and Co’s Brewery, the owner and operator of roughly 220 pubs in London and the south east of England, has entered the US private placement market.

The Slovak Republic kick-started its 2019 international bond issuance on Tuesday, printing a €1bn 11 year, drawing a book of over €5bn. It paid a “minimal” new issue concession, according to lead managers.

ING Bank started the new quarter with supply from its operating company on Monday, giving investors a rare chance to buy paper in floating rate format. It quickly followed with a holding company level deal from its opco.

Broor Spahr van der Hoek is joining Arma Partners, leaving his role at JP Morgan as head of private placements and growth capital business for clients in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The advisory boutique wants to develop its private capital offering as a complement to M&A services; it sees this form of financing as an increasingly relevant option for firms before they go public or are bought up.

Eager demand for hybrid capital issues, amid an environment of low rates, was on show again on Monday, when LafargeHolcim issued its first big deal of this kind. The pricing was tightened by an exceptional amount during the bookbuild — 69bp.

Otto, the family-owned German online and catalogue retailer, brought its first sustainable bond issue on Thursday. But despite it offering an interesting new flavour to green bond investors, the deal's sale produced an underwhelming result.

Following European bond issues by Volkswagen Financial Services, Volvo Car and RCI Banque last week, another car company entered the market on Monday. Toyota Finance Australia issued a two and five year bond that showed the market was very much open for business and full of demand.

A trio of public sector borrowers hit screens with mandates on Monday ahead of what SSA bankers say will be a busy week of supply following a glut of benchmark issuance towards the end of the first quarter.

Spanish telecoms provider MasMovil said on Monday that it had raised a €1.45bn seven year term loan to buy back a convertible bond subscribed by Providence Equity, one of the group’s anchor shareholders.

Network International, the Dubai-based payments company listing in London, was covered throughout its price range on its first day of bookbuilding on Monday. It built on a surge of momentum after it announced US firm Mastercard as a cornerstone investor in its IPO in March.

Neopost, the French postal equipment maker, is marketing a dual currency Schuldschein, becoming the latest in a run of French firms to enter the market.