Europe

Public sector borrowers printed over $10bn of bonds on Tuesday in a dollar market that SSA bankers expect to keep its momentum in the weeks ahead.

Gefco, the French logistics company owned by Russian Railways, has kicked off pre-deal investor education (PDIE) for its flotation on Euronext Paris, reopening the IPO market in Europe in 2019.

US private placement (US PP) participants the world over descend on Florida next week for four days of intensive meetings. For the UK PP agents, soothing concerns and gleaning insights from investors around Brexit is top priority.

SNCF Réseau will aim to boost its volume of green bonds this year in public and private markets, after cutting short its funding last year as a result of potential French railway reforms that became a reality at the end of 2018.

UK mergers and acquisitions are set for a tricky time over the next few years, as the government is expected to begin implementing a more stringent national security regime this year.

Deutsche Bank returned to the covered bond market to issue a perfectly choreographed Pfandbrief. The deal was launched into a relatively quiet market and quickly attracted strong demand, enabling leads to set terms very early in the day despite underlying market concerns.

Zegona, the London-listed investment fund focused on telecoms, media and technology assets, has raised £100.5m ($130m) of fresh capital to fund a stake build in Euskaltel, the Spanish telecommunications company.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group has appointed Jason Mann as European head of financial institutions DCM, a role which will be based in a branch of the bank’s new subsidiary, established to prepare for Brexit.

Half of the Covered Bond Mark is derived from a survey of market participants. The other half is calculated using a range of key metrics — such as the deal’s subscription ratio, its performance, the granularity of the order book, and the transaction’s size.

SEB has selected a new head of equity capital markets following Artem Kosenko’s move across to debt capital markets.

Financial institutions have largely shied away from raising debt in the euro market this week, despite a general improvement in financing conditions. With banks cautious about a number of possible risks to market stability, issuance volumes could be set to remain subdued.

Private equity sponsors have bankers and lawyers working on deals that will seek more flexibility and borrower-friendly covenants this year. But investors are also likely to offer tougher scrutiny this year.