France

Electricité de France has named four banks to lead its €4bn rights issue, of which €3bn will be bought by the French government.

Leveraged loan investors this week showed healthy appetite for core European deals as French data processor Tessi and German jewellery maker Amor began marketing their acquisition loans.

Agence France Locale will diversify its funding sources before the end of the year by signing a Euro-commercial paper programme and printing long dated, privately placed EMTNs.

In a week when uncertainty surrounding the UK referendum on European Union membership clouded markets, Terreal, the clay tiles and bricks maker, managed to tighten pricing on a €260m refinancing loan, reflecting healthy demand for French and German deals.

Compagnie de Financement Foncier (CFF) has updated its EMTN Obligations Foncières programme documentation to permit issuance of soft bullet covered bonds, bringing its deals into line with most others. The move comes as Germany considers updating its law to allow for soft bullet extensions.

Dentressangle Initiatives is seeking €276m of loans to fund its acquisition of Tessi, the French provider of data processing services, which it also plans to delist.

Caisse Française de Financement Local (Caffil), the French public sector bank, issued its third Obligation Foncière this week but, while it set a record low coupon, it was heavily reliant on support from the Eurosystem.

Eutelsat, the French satellite operator, managed to issue a €500m no-grow five year bond on Thursday, despite the ever-fraying nerves about Brexit — though it offered a sizeable new issue premium.

Ecofin, the investment manager that specialises in the infrastructure and environment sectors, launched an accelerated bookbuild on Wednesday evening to clean up all its shares in Direct Energie, the Paris-listed electricity company.

LafargeHolcim, the French-Swiss cement group, found ample demand in the European bond market on Wednesday for a tap issue, showing how keen appetite remains, despite the nearness of the UK’s referendum on leaving the European Union next week.

As European leveraged finance markets skid towards next week's UK referendum on EU membership, French glass bottle maker Verallia this week combined bonds and loans to cut its debt costs and pay Apollo Global a dividend.

The French public sector covered bond issuer returned to the market for the fourth time this year to raise €1bn, with the 0.375% coupon being the lowest ever for a Obligation Foncière due 2025. The transaction was heavily reliant on central bank demand and underperformed after becoming free to trade.