Europe

Political power plays in Turkey and the UK have done little to derail EM bond markets this week, but the pipeline is thinner than before Easter, and limited to Russian borrowers.

Theresa May stunned the UK on Tuesday by calling a snap general election, but equity capital markets remain calm and the next wave of IPOs is becoming more visible, with two more new deals announced this week.

Leveraged finance is once again Europe’s most vigorous corporate capital raising market this week, as investment grade markets remain slumbrous. Five high yield bond issues were mandated on Tuesday, the first day after the Easter holiday, and two cross-border leveraged loan repricings also came to market.

Medical diagnostics firm Unilabs launched a €250m high yield bond with a roadshow this week, to back its acquisition of Alpha Medical. Nomad Foods is also roadshowing a €500m deal.

Misys, the UK financial software firm, held bank meetings on Tuesday in London for a €1bn term loan to back its $3.6bn-equivalent acquisition of D+H, a Canadian competitor, following sponsor Vista Equity Partners’ failed IPO of the UK firm last year.

A hotly contested battle for the French presidency has quieted much of the public sector market this week, but KfW has picked banks for a five year euro benchmark.

UK prime minister Theresa May’s shock general election call on Tuesday may be a calculated attempt to crystallise the Conservative Party’s strong opinion poll lead into actual seats at Westminster — but she could simultaneously weaken her strong stance against a second Scottish independence referendum. That would be bad news for anyone hoping for a favourable outcome for the UK’s economy and financial sector in the Brexit negotiations.

Theresa May, the UK prime minister, on Tuesday announced her intention to seek an early general election for June 8, but the move that will allow her to solidify her Brexit mandate has had no major impact on market volatility.

Corporate bond bankers have welcomed UK prime minister Theresa May’s proposed snap general election on June 8, though some worry this could kill off the sterling market for the next six weeks.

Banco Sabadell mandated leads on Tuesday for only the second Spanish Cédulas of the year which, by virtue of its rarity, is likely to be warmly received.

VolkerWessels, the Dutch construction and property development group owned by the Wessels family, has announced its intention to float on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, over a decade after it was taken private in a buyout.

Bankers active in UK equity capital markets were as surprised as anyone about Prime Minister Theresa May’s decision on Tuesday to call a snap general election on June 8. But they were calm about the risk of it disrupting issuance.