France
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Two sellers took advantage of a slightly upward trend in European markets on Wednesday to sell blocks of shares totalling €792m. Reassuringly to bankers, both deals got covered. -
Compagnie Générale de Géophysique, the French geological surveying company, has launched a three-for-one rights issue to raise €350m, as it struggles with its $2.5bn net debt burden as oil companies cut back on exploration.
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Five issuers from core Europe priced covered bonds this week but the standout success, which could have been priced without the European Central Bank’s help, was the first Austrian deal of the year from Erste Bank.
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Plans to create a new tier of debt in France has put minds at ease about the status of existing senior bonds, bolstering their performance and clearing the way for what could be a very busy year for French banks.
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If European credit investors had to name two firms damaged by the precipitous fall in commodity prices, it is likely that Glencore and Anglo American would top the poll.
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Investors in the public high yield bond market have gone right off riskier structures such as payment-in-kind notes, only two months after they eagerly grabbed a €1.1bn PIK deal for ICBPI, one of the biggest of its kind.
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Additional tier one paper (AT1) from Intesa Sanpaolo and Crédit Agricole was holding firm in secondary on Thursday, despite global equities flashing red again, and bankers feel a lack of fast money is helping the asset class.
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Citigroup has on Wednesday night launched the first European equity block trade of the week, selling 12m shares in Elior, the French catering company, for about €212m.
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Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel has come to market with 2016's largest medium term note (MTN) so far.
