France

Voltalia, the French renewable power producer, launched a €376m rights issue on Monday to finance an increase in capacity, and won a new investor — the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. This is believed to be the first time the EBRD has bought a public equity in western Europe.

Agence Française de Développement (AFD)’s annual borrowing programme is expected to rise sharply in the coming years as a result of increased lending to developing countries.

Axa SFH issued its debut covered bond on Thursday, attracting a comfortably oversubscribed order book for the positive yielding eight year, which was priced at close to fair value. At the same time, Nationwide Building Society took advantage of the Swiss National Bank’s more generous repo arrangements to issue a three-part covered bond denominated in Swiss francs.

Voltalia, the French renewable power producer, has launched a €376m rights issue to finance increased capacity, and has won a new investor in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Tikehau Capital, the French alternative investment manager, plans to expand into new markets and assets after completing the largest equity capital raise in France of the year so far.

Investors poured into Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD)’s 10 year euro benchmark on Tuesday, allowing the French agency to issue its largest ever trade in the currency.

BNP Paribas on Tuesday offered a 12 year tier two bond in bullet format, making use of favourable conditions to offer investors a chance to invest in a longer dated deal.

Agence Francaise de Développement was the only public sector borrower to mandate banks for a new benchmark bond on Monday, as squeezed yields cause issuers to hold off from the primary market.

CNP Assurances said on Thursday that it had picked banks to arrange the sale of a green tier two, adding its name to only a small list of financial borrowers that have sought to bring in green funding in a subordinated format.

Issuance in Swedish kronor picked up this week, with three corporate issuers placing Skr6.28bn ($667.9m) across four private placements, as issuers looked to get in ahead of the midsummer break. In euros, a Dutch and French agency both placed paper, while protests in Hong Kong caused yields to spike in offshore Chinese renminbi and Hong Kong dollars.

AXA Banque has mandated lead managers for a roadshow starting on Thursday as it looks to sell its first covered bond in euros.

Shares in Tikehau Capital, the French alternative investment manager, rose almost 6% this week after the company launched a well-flagged €1bn capital raise to finance growth.