Europe

Sistema JSFC, the holding company of a Russian investment firm, has signed a $350m club loan with two Chinese banks.

Russian fertiliser producer EuroChem has secured a €557m club loan for a subsidiary with the support of SACE, the Italian credit export agency.

The Bank of Portugal has made an unexpected decision to transfer five of Novo Banco’s senior bonds to Banco Espirito Santo (BES), raising legal questions about how the notes were selected.

Russia's Ministry of Finance has initiated legal action against Ukraine over the latter’s failure to repay a $3bn December 2015 Eurobond. It also claims that the default breaches the terms of the International Monetary Fund’s Extended Fund Facility.

The GlobalCapital editorial team has picked what it believes to be the standout bond issues of 2015 across the financial institutions, public sector, emerging markets and corporate bond markets. We selected the trades that we think will be remembered for their success in challenging conditions, for making the best use of the demand available to them, or for having made a longer lasting impact, such as the re-opening of a market. The FIG Deals of the Year 2015 winners are presented here.

Nyrstar, the Belgian zinc and lead producer, failed to reach a quorum at an extraordinary general meeting in Brussels today to approve its rescue rights issue. But it had expected this, and is confident the capital raising will be approved at a second EGM in January.

Huhtamaki, the Finnish food and drink packaging maker, has refinanced a €400m revolving credit facility and extended the tenor by a year.

The UK covered bond market is likely to contract in 2016, and with concerns over Britain’s exit from the European Union likely to mount, the sterling covered bond market could prove more attractive than euros. Despite that, UK mortgage lending has been vibrant and UK issuers are expected to contribute a sizeable portion to next year’s overall covered bond supply.

In 2015 GlobalCapital asked loan market participants for their votes for the Syndicated Loan, Leveraged Finance and Private Placement Awards 2016.

Diurnal Group, a UK company developing drugs to treat rare chronic hormonal imbalances, completed its Aim IPO for £25m on Monday, gaining a £75m market cap.

Solvay, the Belgian chemical company, achieved a 95% take-up for its €1.5bn rights issue, which concluded last week, to finance its $5.5bn takeover of Cytec Industries – one of 2015’s most prominent M&A financings in the European equity capital market.

German arms maker Heckler & Koch was downgraded to D by Standard & Poor’s on Tuesday, after a partial bond redemption considered as a ‘distressed exchange’.