Europe

The UK Debt Management Office on Tuesday breezed through the final syndication of its financial year, printing at a record low real yield despite a postponed start to opening books and murmurings about falling demand for inflation linked paper.

Companies were able to tighten pricing on euro deals this week, as investors said they expected the corporate market to keep shrugging off the political headline risks in Europe that have prompted widening in some government bonds.

French issuers appear unfazed by political turbulence afflicting their sovereign's curve, with two borrowers in the market this week. Meanwhile, the European Financial Stability Facility sold its largest deal tranche in over 2.5 years.

Shares in Eltel, the Swedish intranet company, jumped 14% on Tuesday after it announced its 2016 results, the sale of non-core assets, the revision of its debt covenants, and a rights issue to finance its restructuring and return to profitability.

KKR has agreed to buy up to a 40% share in Telefónica’s telecoms infrastructure division Telxius for €1.275bn, adding further to a growing buyout pipeline in Europe.

United Overseas Bank in Singapore has mandated joint leads for its second covered bond, and the second issue from a Singaporean borrower this year. It may issue in euros or dollars, or potentially in both currencies. Overseas Chinese Banking Corporation is expected to follow later this year.

Santander has poached yet another banker from the Royal Bank of Scotland's leveraged finance team, as Saul Proctor becomes financial sponsor director at the Spanish bank.

Germany’s DVB Bank tapped a three year senior bond on Tuesday, appealing to renewed appetite in the floating rate market and extending a run of recent bond reopenings.

Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi is the first of the Turkish banks to follow a successful sovereign tap last week, and with Turkish bank debt well bid in secondaries, it will be expecting a better result than its last senior trade.

Nomura has hired two bankers into its investment banking division, a new head of investment banking for Italy and a FIG coverage banker.

Air Berlin, the unprofitable German airline, has successfully raised the money it needs to refinance its €140m 6% convertible bonds, puttable in March, despite bondholders shunning the exchange offer.

The UK is set to bring its final syndication of its 2016/17 financial year this week, following on from a strong week for public sector trades in the currency.