Europe

BRF, the Brazilian food conglomerate, has confirmed that it is considering London for an IPO of its halal food business, although a final decision has not been made.

HeidelbergCement hit the Eurobond market on Monday with a benchmark four year transaction, winning large demand and a negative concession as it tapped investors’ sweet spot on tenor.

The European high yield market on Monday fired its opening shot of 2017 with a deal from TalkTalk. The UK telecoms provider is seeking £300m of five year non-call two senior unsecured notes.

Reducing Hungary’s FX liabilities continues to be one of its debt management office’s (AKK) driving factors, but CEO György Barcza also remains committed to diversifying the country’s funding sources. With a Japanese yen bond maturing, and a €1bn bond planned, 2017 looks set to offer investors some rare opportunities to buy into Hungary’s improving debt story.

German Landesbank NordLB issued a €500m 10 year Pfandbrief backed by public sector loans on Monday. The deal had a narrowly oversubscribed order book despite offering a fair new issue concession. Meanwhile, Austria's Erste Bank has mandated leads for a Pfandbrief backed by mortgages.

BlackRock became the largest shareholder in Lloyds Bank on Monday, after the UK government reduced its holdings in the lender to less than 6%.

Crédit Agricole was set to issue a long seven year senior preferred bond on Monday, opting for the old-style asset class instead of a covered bond for its funding requirements.

Commerzbank walked away with €500m of tier two capital on Monday, though the German lender was unable to build a large book amid a bout of deal fatigue in the euro market.

NN Group mandated banks for an offering of senior and subordinated debt on Monday, as the firm looks to merge with fellow Dutch insurer Delta Lloyd.

Swedbank and Swedish Covered Bond Corporation rapidly attracted solid oversubscriptions for their €1bn five and seven year covered bonds that were priced with a minimal concession on Monday.

Société Générale has hired a senior banker from Bank of America Merrill Lynch to become its head of global banking, investor solutions, coverage and investment banking in Italy.

Eurex will introduce CFTC-certified options on its VStoxx futures contract as it aims to increase US participation in the product.