Germany

Flushed with years of popularity in Germany and its neighbouring countries, Schuldschein arrangers have begun to look across the globe for new borrowers to tempt to the market. This year has brought the first transaction from India, and many say Reliance Industries’ success may spur more non-European entities to target the Schuldschein investors. Silas Brown reports.

VIENNA PRIVATE DEBT ROUNDTABLE The Schuldschein market is widening its circle of issuers and investors. It is now a natural choice for Austrian companies wanting to complement bank funding, but not necessarily big enough to issue public bonds.

The Schuldschein market has become a hotbed of technological innovation over the past 12 months, with as many as 11 digital platforms cropping up, claiming to have solutions to the instrument’s age-old, if slightly charming, inefficiencies. Silas Brown looks into the secrets to a digital platform’s success.

Dutch agency BNG via DZ Bank has placed the first ‘smart n-bond’, a Namensschuldverschreibung (NSV) issued through digital platform European private placement facility (eppf). Participants hailed this transaction as a step towards a functioning pan-European private placement market.

Global Fashion Group, the emerging markets-focused online fashion retailer, has opened the books for its €300m IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange with a price range that pitches the company at a healthy discount to its closest peers Asos and Zalando.

Volkswagen surprised the equity capital markets on Friday by setting a range on the IPO of its trucks division, Traton, a few days earlier than most in the market had expected. But the deal has already gained strong investor interest.

A structure developed in the loan market, in which a company’s financing margin can be lowered during the life of the deal if it improves its environmental, social and governance credentials, has crossed over into the Schuldschein market. That raises the possibility it could make the leap to the bond market, write Silas Brown and Jon Hay.

Emmerson eyes $230m project financing - NCC refis amid deal drought - Deufol cuts margins with loan refi - Ires Reit activates acquisition accordion - Ukraine's Kronospan receives EBRD-led loan, but MHP funding remains uncertain

Bond market alpha types may find it galling when the fusty old loan market can teach them an innovative new structure. And yet, that may be about to happen.

BNP Paribas has hired a banker from SMBC to fill the vacant position of head of US private placements.

Three SSA borrowers issued a total of £200m ($255m) of medium-term notes in response to an inquiry for three year non-call one fixed rate sterling bonds on Tuesday — which probably all sold to the same buyer — amid an uptick of paper in the currency.

Commerzbank, Jyske Bank and UBI Banca all issued €500m senior non-preferred bonds with five year maturities on Thursday. But Jyske opted for a more flexible and efficient note, callable four years after its issuance date.