Germany

Hamburg Sparkasse has appointed leads for a five year Pfandbrief. The mandate announcement has emerged as dealers report switching interest in Belgian covered bonds.

Bayer, the German life sciences company, this week unveiled the terms for a €6bn rights issue, after its acquisition of Monsanto, the US agrochemical and biotech company, cleared its final regulatory hurdles last week.

On Monday, Volkswagen reopened the euro corporate bond market after a blank week. The German car company’s financial arm was the only corporate issuer to brave the market on the day and, despite issuing a €1.5bn triple tranche deal, kept its longest maturity at six years.

Home24, the German online furniture retailer backed by Rocket Internet, has opened the books on its IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Only the punchiest private debt players would commit this sentiment to public record, but they have a little secret: volatility makes their pitch that much sweeter. As the euro bond market scrabbles for stability, Schuldschein and US private placement agents are quietly spotting opportunity.

Deutsche Börse’s CEO, Theodor Weimer, on Wednesday committed to greatly reducing the exchange group's structural costs by 2020 while doubling down on growth, technology and acquisitions.

Bond market havoc following the Italian president’s decision to appoint a technocratic government has shut the euro market for most public sector borrowers. Volatile swap spreads are making issuance near impossible, while an “enormous” flattening in Italy’s curve is of particular concern for that sovereign, said one head of SSA syndicate.

Helaba and VC Trade launched a digital platform with the hope of transforming the market, but the big test was whether other arranging banks would be convinced to join up. Two months later BayernLB is co-arranging a transaction with Helaba — which could be the first sign of broader acceptance of the platform.

The political manoeuvrings in Italy’s path to being governed — as well as poor eurozone economic data — played havoc with rates this week, leading to SSA deals either paying higher new issue concessions, or falling short of subscription. More volatility could come, after the country’s president approved the likely coalition partners’ choice of prime minister but held back from appointing a eurosceptic economist to take charge of the country’s economy. Craig McGlashan reports.

Frozen bakery supplier Aryzta’s shares fell by as much as 30% on Thursday as it issued a profit warning that full year Ebitda was expected to be 9%-12% lower than guidance released in January. This is a cause for concern for Schuldschein lenders endeavouring to rid the market of the stench left by Carillion and Steinhoff.

Rating: Baa2/BBB/BBB+

After the Whit Monday holiday in Europe, Deutsche Telekom boldly re-opened the corporate bond market. Having seen compatriot Bertelsmann pull a deal on Thursday, Europe’s largest telecoms provider showed no fear when it sold a four-tranche offering.