Europe

The French government has pulled the trigger on the IPO of Française des Jeux, the gambling company that is also the operator of the national lottery, a key part of president Emmanuel Macron’s plans to privatise state assets.

Matthieu Pigasse, one of France’s most famous bankers, is leaving Lazard for a new project.

Shares in Wirecard, the German payments firm, rose by as much as 8.2% on Monday morning after the company called in KPMG to conduct an independent review into its accounting practices. However, the exchangeable bonds issued by SoftBank to derisk its investment in the company fell further, proving little relief to equity-linked investors that bought into the deal.

Capital markets have long been unattractive funding routes for UK local authorities as the Public Works Loan Board — a government body that provides loans to public bodies — has offered lending levels that public and private markets could not compete with. But a recent Treasury announcement may have tipped the scales in PP players' favour.

SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust, the London-listed fund focused on energy efficiency projects, has raised £100m as it prepares to ramp up its investment activities.

German home improvement and garden supplies chain Hornbach issued €250m of senior unsecured notes on Thursday, for a coupon of just 3.25%. While the retail sector in general makes investors wary and Germany is lurching towards recession, investors showed confidence in the home improvement market.

Credito Emiliano continued an Italian bank bond spree on Friday, choosing a quiet day to market a debut non-preferred senior bond. The deal comes one day after Banca del Mezzogiorno priced a social bond.

A block trade in Eurazeo, the French private equity firm, was sold on Thursday night but not covered, with banks bemoaning a late launch of the trade.

BMW Finance returned to the Panda bond market with a Rmb3bn ($424m) dual-tranche private placement note. It was the company's third outing this year, but this time the German automaker substituted the three year tranche with a two year note.

The recent bond market sell-off has provided an opportune window for issuers to bring positive yielding deals, boosting demand for SSAs and covered bonds. It’s difficult to imagine this move will prove anything other than temporary, suggesting hesitant issuers should seize the opportunity before it disappears.

EU institutions are set to start final negotiations on draft regulation for the Taxonomy of Sustainable Economic Activities next week. Disagreement over nuclear energy and the amount of power given to the European Parliament might make the discussions thorny.

HSBC’s plan to develop its UK equities and corporate broking business remains intact, despite its decision to review its global equities business.