France

Four covered bonds issuers raised almost €6bn between them at the long end of the curve this week, suggesting borrowers are prioritising tougher, longer duration deals. And while conditions permit some are issuing in the largest size possible.

A pair of public sector borrowers switched up their approaches in dollars on Thursday, with the European Investment Bank taking the rare move of revising pricing and Caisse d’Amortissement de la Dette Sociale bringing a trade earlier than normal.

Autoroutes du Sud de la France, the French toll road operator, tested the investment grade euro corporate bond market’s taste for tenor on Thursday with a 10 year trade.

French medicine manufacturer Unither Pharmaceuticals is set to kick off the primary market in European leveraged finance for 2017, setting a bank meeting for Tuesday in Paris for €260m of loans.

Société Générale became the third French bank to dip into dollars for senior non-preferred debt this week, with investors appearing hungry for the new product.

A dual tranche global deal from the Asian Development Bank on Wednesday at least temporarily dashed hopes that this year could be strong for 10 year dollar benchmark issuance — although some bankers away from the trade felt that the problems were idiosyncratic rather than reflective of demand.

French technical and energy services company Spie is mulling its options for the acquisition financing of German peer SAG, but a company source dismissed talk of an imminent high yield offering.

Foncière des Murs, the French property company controlled by Foncière des Régions, will raise €200m of equity in a rights issue to partly finance its €542m acquisition of a portfolio of 19 Spanish hotels from Merlin Properties.

The plans of London Stock Exchange Group and Deutsche Börse to pursue a merger of equals received a boost this week, as rival exchange Euronext agreed terms with the LSEG to buy its Paris clearing house business LCH SA in an all cash offer.

Renault Credit International Banque, the finance subsidiary of Renault, became the first corporate bond issuer of 2017 on Tuesday, slipping through the year’s earliest possible window to issue in euros.

France has wasted little of 2017 in getting its green bond to market having missed the chance to be the first sovereign to print in the format when Poland brought a deal at the end of last year. It announced on Tuesday the six banks that will run the trade.

Four covered bond issuers returned to the market on Tuesday with the first deals of 2017. Two €1.5bn 10 year transactions showed that borrowers are prioritising the tougher, longer duration deals and, while conditions permit, issuing in large size.