Europe

As the shareholder acceptance deadline for German pharmaceuticals firm Stada’s €4.1bn buyout loomed on Thursday, there has been talk in the market about the rising influence of activist investors in Europe. Historically a largely US phenomenon, some market participants think Europe is set to experience a surge in shareholder activism of its own, shaking up the corporate landscape and inviting further leveraged buyouts, writes Max Bower.

Zur Rose Group had a flying start with the launch of its Sfr252m ($259m) IPO on the SIX Swiss Exchange on Thursday, as books were covered within four hours to the full deal size, including the greenshoe.

Deutsche Bank has poached one of Goldman Sachs’ top M&A bankers in Europe amid a revamp of its corporate and investment bank by its new management team.

Though this week was expected to be something of a write-off for SSA issuance, thanks to Euromoney’s Global Borrowers & Bond Investors forum, a pair of issuers pulled off well-received transactions.

Compass Group, the UK food service company, offered investors a choice of main courses on Monday, combining a €750m seven year bond with a £300m 12 year. Demand was plentiful for both and the new issue premiums were minimal.

Covered bond investors have begun to push back on aggressively priced deals, and with spreads close to the tightest in a decade there is a growing belief that they will widen.

Investors have piled into the €866m IPO of Rocket Internet-backed Delivery Hero, with the deal covered across the price range just two days into bookbuilding, according to bankers.

Intesa Sanpaolo announced on Wednesday that it was willing to acquire parts of struggling Italian lenders Veneto Banca and Banca Popolare di Vicenza. But the Italian national champion ruled out buying the banks’ subordinated bonds, non-performing loans and high-risk performing loans.

The spate of equity linked issuance since the market reopened in mid-May quickened on Thursday with the launch of the largest “real CB” in EMEA for more than two years: a $1.5bn deal for STMicroelectronics, one of the region’s most prolific issuers.

Société de Financement Local (SFiL), a French agency, sold its inaugural dollar trade this week, issuing into an otherwise quiet market.

Altran Technologies’ founding shareholders and investor Apax Partners raised €297m on Wednesday after pricing an accelerated equity sale within the lower half of expectations.

Danaher Corp, the US healthcare technology group, issued a €850m dual tranche bond on Monday and the latest reverse Yankee issuer found strong demand for both tranches, resulting in minimal new issue concessions.