Europe

VAT Vakuumventile launched on Thursday morning the bookbuild for its Zurich listing. The deal, Switzerland’s first IPO of the year, could give the vacuum valve maker a valuation of up to Sfr1.38bn ($1.4bn).

Euros issuance could be focused on the shorter end of the curve in the coming months, bankers said, given the considerable risks of investing in a longer dated bond at a time at which the European Central Bank's interest rates sit at record lows.

German wind turbine manufacturer Nordex has become the first borrower to issue an accredited green Schuldschein, leading the way for more deals to come.

Rabobank has announced the sale of a €1bn portfolio of mortgages in a move that has pre-positioned the bank for tougher Basel IV regulations. By the time the rules are in force in Europe though, they may look different, especially for countries that are heavy users of covered bonds.

Russian container terminal operator Global Ports Investments has mandated six banks for its debut Eurobond and is embarking on a roadshow for the deal. The last time a debut issuer from the country tapped the bond markets was in 2013.

Royal Bank of Scotland offered to both buy and sell holdco senior debt on Wednesday, as UK banks make increasing use of liability management to adapt to new regulatory capital requirements.

Poland has returned to the dollar market after its ratings downgrade and, in printing with the lowest new issue premium for a dollar CEEMEA sovereign bond this year, has knocked out any lingering concerns about appetite for its debt.

A former head of UK equity capital markets at Bank of America Merrill Lynch has been appointed chief executive of UK Financial Investments, which manages the government’s stakes in Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland.

Songa Offshore, the Norwegian oil drilling company, has made a strong start to its attempt to raise $125m of new money with a convertible bond, as part of a distressed debt restructuring.

US biotech firm MaxCyte started trading on London’s junior stock exchange on Tuesday, after raising £10m from its initial public offering.

Investors holding Italian Treasury certificates will not be required to pay the Italian sovereign if the instruments’ floating rate coupons turn negative — an increasingly likely possibility for an older format of the paper.

Ireland used a private placement to sell its first ever 100 year note, the country’s National Treasury Management Agency said on Wednesday.