Europe

Agrokor, a Croatian retail, food and agriculture company, has enough funding to repay debt maturities this year despite a recently pulled loan syndication, according to Moody’s, but cash flow is low and addressing next year’s PIK notes will be critical to its rating.

UK mortgage lender Together Financial was the only new deal in the European high yield bond market of the week when, on Wednesday, it sold a sterling offering that received firm demand in a rare example of a single-B name opting for bonds over leveraged loans.

MD Medical Group, the Russian private hospitals group that specialises in paediatric and maternity care, will consider a share sale on the London Stock Exchange to partly finance the opening of 10 new medical facilities across Russia over the next three years.

Berlin Hyp issued a well oversubscribed €500m eight year mortgage backed covered bond on Wednesday and attracted exceptional demand from foreign investors, even though the deal was priced tightly.

Société Générale was marketing the first ever non-preferred senior bond in Swiss francs on Wednesday, as credit spreads for the country’s banks begin to recover after concerns about a far-right win in May’s French presidential elections.

Hochtief, the German engineering group, has joined the ranks of blue chip names rushing to the Schuldschein market, having launched a €150m deal on Tuesday.

With more than 100 investors in the book and an oversubscription ratio of nearly three times, Nord/LB’s Luxembourg subsidiary enjoyed one of the best receptions of any €500m covered bond seen this year and one that was much better than all its previous deals.

Russian Railways will meet investors in London next week ahead of a potential return to both the dollar and Eurorouble bond markets.

After a tumultuous week of blowouts and recoveries in European government bond spreads, this week is looking more settled and healthy. However, the feverish pace of issuance has also abated.

The repricing train steams on in European leveraged loans, although several buyouts are coming down the track, offering new paper and the promise of some yield to desperate investors.

GlobalCapital revealed the winners of its Syndicated Loan, Leveraged Finance and Private Placement Awards 2016 at its 14th Annual Loans Dinner on Wednesday. A dozen borrowers — corporate, bank and sovereign — from all over the EMEA region attended the dinner of 250 people at the Guildhall in London. The awards were as ever based on a poll of loan market participants, conducted at the end of 2016. As such, they are the only awards that recognise achievement in the EMEA loan market based on the opinion of the market. This year we added two high profile new awards: the Lifetime Achievement Award and Most Impressive Growing Force in the Loan Market. Participants at the dinner supported the Loan Syndicate Managers’ Forum’s chosen charity, Make Sense of It, which supports research into, and sufferers from, multiple sclerosis. GlobalCapital congratulates all the winners and nominees.

Buoyant secondary markets are continuing to provide ideal conditions for equity sellers to trade blocks. This week has already brought notable sales in France, Finland, Sweden and Russia.