France

The two new issues that were priced in the European corporate bond market this week have both tightened from their reoffer spreads. The success of these deals has accelerated the thinking of some issuers and two more roadshows were announced on Thursday.

The European Financial Stability Facility on Wednesday sent a request for proposals for its deal window next week, with bankers saying that the supranational has a wide variety of options. The trade is likely to receive a big welcome in a hot euro market, as evidenced by an impressive Unédic trade on Wednesday — dubbed a “cracker” by bankers away from the deal — and equally strong euro deals a day earlier.

Former French prime minister François Fillon will become a new partner at Tikehau Capital in September, a source told GlobalCapital on Wednesday, with a ‘full dedication’ job to increase the firm’s domestic business and international reputation.

European investors had just 12 days between corporate bond deals this August as issuers looked to take advantage of the strong issuance conditions still in effect.

Nederlandse Waterschapsbank brought some supply to the sparse long end of the SRI market on Tuesday, printing a trade that alongside Rentenbank was part of a strong re-emergence of euro supply after the summer.

Gecina, the French real estate investment trust, has raised €1bn after its M&A-driven rights issue was nearly three times covered.

Despite the summer lull, large deals are still going through in EMEA equity capital markets, including one of the year’s larger European acquisition financings, which reached a successful conclusion on Wednesday.

Société Générale was keen to highlight improvements in cost and risk control when reporting its earnings for the second quarter on Wednesday, but growing litigation costs and falling trading revenues cast a shadow over the group’s results announcement.

Tikehau Capital, the French alternative asset manager, has raised €702m to accelerate its development, after its rights issue attracted substantial oversubscription by new and existing shareholders.

Ivanhoé Cambridge, the Canadian real estate company that is the largest shareholder in Gecina, has sold 87% of its allocation of rights in the French property group's €1bn rights issue, through a block trade on Tuesday night.

Equity capital markets in Europe are beginning to wind down for the summer break, with just a handful of live deals left.

Gecina, the French real estate investment trust focused on residential, office and healthcare properties, will raise €1bn through a fully underwritten rights issue to partly refinance its acquisition of Eurosic.