Europe

France’s state postal service La Poste priced a €250m tap with relative ease on Monday, as corporate investors put in orders for a name considered an agency by some. La Poste is rated A/A+.

Pernod Ricard, the French distiller, priced an opportunistic €500m bond on Monday, paying an 18bp new issue premium in a market that some participants feel is getting heavier.

Brait, the South African private equity firm listed in Luxembourg and Johannesburg, issued a £350m convertible bond on Friday September 11. A banker at one of the leads said the deal, a true credit instrument, was very unusual for a company of this kind.

Statkraft, the Norwegian state electricity company, made a successfully defensive venture into an uncertain corporate bond market with a €500m no-grow bond on Monday.

The euro pipeline for SSAs is fit to burst amid strong conditions, with a trio of issuers hitting screens on Monday and at least one borrower set to come with a deal later in the week.

Davide Campari-Milano, the unrated Italian drinks company, began a roadshow in London on Thursday for its first euro bond issue in three years.

Borealis, the Austrian chemicals and fertiliser producer, has extended its €1bn five year revolving credit facility by one year.

Two insurance companies are meeting investors this week for tier two trades as the sector continues to beef up its capital ahead of the implementation of Solvency II in January 2016.

Bond and equity investors in Abengoa, the Spanish renewable energy company, took heart this week after Standard & Poor’s affirmed its rating after the market close on Friday, September 11.

It always gives great delight to be the conduit of bankers' warm sentiments for each other - particularly among the market's more outspoken protagonists - and in recent weeks the Ranger has heard some corkers.

Law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher raided rival Herbert Smith Freehills for two London-based equity capital markets partners.

Italy’s borrowing costs dropped across the curve at an auction on Friday, although its yields at the longer end are still some distance from the euro-era lows hit earlier this year.