Europe

A wave of mergers and acquisitions is on the way, driven by the rise in awareness of climate change, bankers believe. But there will be no easy options for companies trying to reshape their businesses for the low carbon transition, and the process will create winners and losers.

SMBC Nikko has hired Markus Steilen as managing director and head of continental European debt syndicate, based in Frankfurt, as it expands its capital markets capabilities in the region.

German telecoms company United Internet began bookbuilding a Schuldschein on Wednesday afternoon, according to market sources. It has the tightest pricing on a new deal since the pandemic began.

The UK issued a £4bn index-linked Gilt maturing in 2039 on Tuesday, experiencing hot demand as investors flocked to secure protection from the threat of inflation.

Aija Zitcere, director in the financial markets policy department of the Latvian Finance Ministry and her colleague, Imants Tiesnieks, a senior expert in the same department, discuss the main features of Latvia’s covered bond law, which was approved by its Parliament on Wednesday.

Gas and heating components manufacturer SIT Group has sold a €40m private placement to Pricoa, which has margins tied to the Italian company’s sustainability.

Polymetal, one of Russia’s largest gold producers, has added to its green debt by raising $400m from international lenders

French electric utility company Engie has raised €538m from the sale of Gaztransport Et Technigaz (GTT) shares and exchangeable bonds.

Mizuho's new head of linear rates trading, Jason Cohen, has made three hires as he looks to build a franchise for the Japanese bank in EMEA.

Asfinag, the Austrian state-owned agency that manages the country's motorways, had the euro market to itself on Wednesday. A cheap starting point earned the borrower a huge order book for the €500m bond.

Westpac New Zealand attracted a high quality order book for a covered bond issue on Wednesday but it was slow to build and thinly subscribed, leading some to conclude that the market lacked confidence.

BT has appointed Andrew Binnie, a former member of Vodafone’s treasury team, as its new group treasury director. BT's previous treasury manager left in September and faces a murder charge.