Europe

UK petrol station operator EG Group launched a jumbo leveraged loan facility on Thursday, totalling €3.5bn-equivalent, to finance its acquisition of Esso sites in Italy and Germany. Bank meetings are due to be wrapped up by the end of this week.

Germany’s HeidelbergCement, rated Baa3/BBB-/BBB-, has signed a new €3bn-equivalent multi-currency revolving credit facility, refinancing debt early to lock in better terms.

Investment grade loans bankers are trying to hold firm against what they claim is an attempt by borrowers to loosen deal terms aggressively, as the market prepares for a spate of merger and acquisition financing, writes Michael Turner.

Investment grade loans bankers are licking their lips as a spate of big UK M&A transactions gathered pace this week, but jumbo acquisitions rarely go smoothly and lenders have already had to adjust expectations after GKN batted away an offer from Melrose.

The Schuldschein and US PP markets pride themselves on rigorous credit analysis, but both were caught flat-footed when UK outsourcing firm Carillion fell into liquidation this week. The likelihood of private debt investors getting their money back is slim, and the knock-on effects on both markets are being disputed, write Nell Mackenzie and Silas Brown.

Sparebank 1 Boligkreditt has mandated lead managers for a roadshow to market its first green covered bond. The move coincided with proposals from lawmakers in Luxembourg for a green covered bond framework.

NIBC, Raiffeisenlandesbank NiederÖsterreich-Wien (RLB NW) and BayernLB were easily able to sell 10 year covered bonds issued this week, thanks to their small size and European Central Bank demand.

DNB Boligkreditt and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce this week issued the first five year covered bonds of the year and found strong demand, even though there was a sensitivity around the final spread.

Debt management officials met in Vienna this week at Euromoney’s annual Central & Eastern European Forum. After a record year for CEEMEA funding in 2017, 2018 has begun with equally supportive conditions, though CEE sovereigns will maintain a measured approach to borrowing this year. GlobalCapital presents a round-up of some of their funding plans for 2018.

Fibabanka has launched its $300m five year senior unsecured bond at 6%, with leads having built a book of just under $500m for the bond, which had been postponed from October.

Only a single issuer came to market in euros on Thursday. In what a banker away from the deal referred to as “good traffic control”, Austria had the market to itself for a €4bn 10 year.

Institutional investors are playing a bigger role in alternative asset classes, a BlackRock survey showed on Thursday, increasing the chance of larger deals. EQT Credit’s latest investment was a case in point.