Germany

Traton, Volkswagen’s heavy trucks division, is back on the market. The German auto giant relaunched the IPO after it was postponed in March owing to market volatility caused by trade tensions between the US and China. The deal is a key event for the equity capital markets in what has been a tricky year. It is important for those involved and for the wider market that it goes well. Yet conditions are not much better now, particularly for auto stocks, raising questions among investors about Traton’s timing, writes Aidan Gregory.

Guarantor: Federal Republic of Germany

Activity in the FIG sector in Swiss francs shifted from the international to the domestic market this week, with a little over Sfr850m ($857m) of new supply priced on Tuesday alone.

KfW returned to the market on Wednesday for its second five year euro benchmark of the year. The €5bn 0% July 2024 note was issued with the lowest yield the German agency has ever paid.

Investment firm Triton Partners has sold the remainder of its shares in in Befesa, the German metal recycling firm, in a popular €216m block trade.

KfW returned to the market for its second five year euro benchmark of the year. The €5bn zero coupon note was issued with the lowest yield ever printed by the German issuer.

Schuldschein arrangers have been telling prospective borrowers to make spread ranges more attractive for lenders, if they would like the full attention of the market. With over 20 deals in the market, smaller lenders have to choose which credits to work on, often at first glance — and will be far more likely to ignore any borrower that does not offer good margins.

The State of Schleswig-Holstein returned to the market with a 10 year note on Tuesday. Meanwhile, KfW has announced a new five year euro deal, following on from January’s record KfW book for the maturity.

Volkswagen has rebooted the IPO of Traton, its trucks division, after the deal was delayed in March due to volatility in equity markets caused by the ongoing trade tensions between the US and China.

Global Fashion Group, the emerging markets-focused online fashion retailer, intends to raise €300m to finance its growth via an IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the company said in a statement on Monday.

Deutsche Bahn arrived with its first Kangaroo since 2018 this week. The MTN follows a quartet of public SSA issues that arrived earlier this week.

Reliance Industries settled its debut Schuldschein for €405m on Thursday, in a transaction which was widely considered a success — and promising for any arrangers looking to transport the instrument out of Europe.