Europe

European financial institutions need up to €500bn of new loss-absorbing debt to meet their minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL), according to analysts at BNP Paribas.

Finnish-headquartered property materials firm Caverion Group has signed a €60m unsecured term loan after restructuring in 2016.

Irish funds could soon be making waves in China’s onshore capital markets thanks to a Rmb50bn ($7.2bn) Renminbi Qualified Institutional Investor (RQFII) quota awarded to Ireland this week.

Shares in Greencore, the Anglo-Irish sandwich and convenience food producer, closed 3% higher on Wednesday after it completed its £439m rights issue to finance its acquisition of Peacock Foods, a US competitor.

Shares in MedLife, Romania’s largest private healthcare provider, gained 3% on Wednesday after it completed the first Romanian IPO since June 2014.

Apax Partners closed its ninth fund at a hard cap of $9bn this week, as the private equity community adds to its record amounts of dry powder amid difficult buyout conditions.

Dedalus Holding, the Italian clinical health software company controlled by private equity firm Ardian, is set to list on the Third Market of the Vienna Börse a €72m floating rate note to refinance its debt.

Germany is likely to lead gross supply of covered bonds next year, and many analysts are forecasting it will see its first proper net increase in years. Even so, the market is likely to remain well supported.

The European subsidiary of US commodity trader Louis Dreyfus Company has extended the tenor of its European revolving credit facility and increased the deal by $200m, though the borrower did not tighten pricing on the loan, according to a lead banker.

Alfa-Bank defied low pre-Christmas liquidity levels to print a $300m increase of its AT1 that was sold to a greater proportion of international investors than the original October print, according to a lead banker.

The London Stock Exchange has entered into exclusive talks with Euronext about selling it LCH.Clearnet SA, the LSE's French clearing subsidiary.

Shares in Life Healthcare, one of South Africa’s leading private hospital operators, rose 1.5% on Tuesday after it said it would raise R10.7bn ($756m) in a rights issue to reduce its leverage after buying Alliance Medical Group, the UK provider of diagnostic imaging services.