Europe

BioPharma Credit, the closed end investment company focused on life sciences, has announced the largest UK IPO of the year so far.

Natwest Markets, the wholesale banking business of Royal Bank of Scotland, has hired for its bond trading team Hussain Nasser, who left SC Lowy in November.

Air Liquide successfully traversed souring investor appetite towards French risk on Wednesday to print a €600m 10-year trade amid a fresh furor in the run up to the country’s presidential elections.

Three banks have joined the syndication for the Z2.7bn ($661m) loan CVC is using to fund its takeover of Polish supermarket Żabka Polska.

The Financial Conduct Authority has set out its proposals for reforming the UK IPO process, as the markets regulator looks for ways to maintain the UK’s eminence in capital markets.

Travel services provider Hotelbeds has increased its €172.5m term loan add-on to €200m, also cutting the margin guidance from 625bp to 500bp with a 0% floor.

Ineos Styrolution released price talk on its €623m term loan ‘B’ refinancing following a bank meeting on Wednesday — less than six months after signing the facility to be redeemed.

US car rental company Avis Budget Group called in on European investors on Wednesday with a refinancing that extended a busy pipeline of reverse Yankee high yield deals in euros.

Capital Intelligence Ratings (CI), which has a 35-year track record of rating banks in emerging markets, has joined forces with the European Covered Bond Council (ECBC) in a move that suggests the asset class is set to spread to new frontier regions.

The European Central Bank released details on how its review of bank internal models will progress, a move which could see capital requirements across Europe’s large banks jump, even if the planned ‘Basel IV’ capital rules are stalled indefinitely.

Slovenia has released guidance for a pair of euro taps following the expiry of a tender offer for its outstanding dollar issues on Tuesday afternoon.

Investors can look forward to seeing higher yielding debt offering in the FIG primary market, after ING mandated for its first senior bond since confirming its holding company will be its resolution entity on Wednesday and Bankia said it was looking to sell a new callable tier two bond.