Europe

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.

Reckitt Benckiser racked up $16bn in orders as it printed a four tranche bond to fund its purchase of US baby food maker Mead Johnson in an otherwise subdued week for corporate issuers in the US.

Recession and lingering sanctions concerns failed to prevent Belarus hammering down on price on its return to the dollar bond market after a six year absence.

Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (RATP), the Paris transport authority, printed its inaugural green bond on Thursday, selling a €500m no-grow into a thrice oversubscribed book and pulling the price in 5bp from guidance.

Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane was the only issuer in the corporate bond market on Thursday. The Italian railway operator's eight year €1bn deal followed a European roadshow last week and took a similar path to other deals this week.

When Banco Popular lost the market's confidence, it ran out of road. Realistic assumptions for recovery rates on bad assets plunged to super-conservative levels. Confidence is the greatest form of solvency, its withdrawal a precursor to insolvency.

Falling oil prices and the imposition of new US sanctions failed to dampen investor demand for Russia’s Eurobond return on Tuesday.

Isbank raised $500m with the 10th deal from a Turkish financial this year with a tidy though somewhat lacklustre trade. While EM bankers suggested it was evidence of some Turkish bank fatigue among investors, the leads said the trade was symptomatic of the weaker market backdrop.

Belarus returned to the eurobond market for the first time in more than six years on Thursday, releasing initial price thoughts for a dual-tranche dollar deal.