Europe

Dutch biotech firm argenx has tapped equity investors for $1bn (€830.3m) to finance research and development.

UK mortgage lender Perenna has completed its first round of private funding and plans to return for more within the next few months, before originating fixed for life mortgages in the second half of the year. That could lead to the first Danish style covered bond issuance in the UK.

Global equity markets were propelled to new all-time highs at the end of last year when various drug companies announced that they were close to releasing vaccines to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. However, with the vaccine roll-out slow, new mutant variants of the virus raging and governments striking a sombre tone, investors need to prepare for the fact that they may have bought in haste.

Cyprus attracted sold demand when it hit the market for a new five euro benchmark on Tuesday. The trade was priced with a positive yield – a rarity for a eurozone sovereign bond in this part of the curve.

Portugal mandated banks on Tuesday to lead the sale of a new 30 year bond as it looks to pounce on the strong investor appetite in the long end of the euro curve.

Alternative asset manager Hayfin has appointed a former Bank of America managing director as a portfolio manager for private credit.

Stephen Taylor, previously head of equity capital markets at Macquarie, has joined Houlihan Lokey's ECM advisory team.

Trading levels given are bid-side spreads versus mid-swaps and/or an underlying benchmark and bid-yields from the close of business on Monday, February 1. The source for secondary trading levels is ICE Data Services.

Polish social and mobile gaming company Huuuge will price its Warsaw IPO at Z50, the top of the initial range, valuing the business at Z4.6bn ($1.2bn), according to sources close to the transaction.

KfW IPEX-Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of KfW, has promoted Christian Bevc to global head of syndications and treasury.

After launching its first euro covered benchmark earlier this year, Aareal Bank returned on Tuesday to mandate leads for a dollar Pfandbrief.

Investors clamouring at a chance to diversify helped Argenta Spaarbank’s debut benchmark euro covered bond price close to where bonds from established Belgian issuers trade when it was issued on Tuesday.