Germany

Springer Nature, the German academic publishing group, has opened the books on its €1.3bn Frankfurt IPO with a price range that gives a “healthy discount” to peers.

RBC Capital Markets is losing two members of its US private placements team in New York, one of which is a business veteran.

Nfon, the German cloud telephone systems provider, has set the range on its Frankfurt IPO. The deal will be about roughly €138m, should a greenshoe be exercised.

Kommunalbanken has circulated initial price thoughts of 5bp area over mid-swaps for a no-grow $1bn three year benchmark, a level that bankers away from the trade said was 'well priced'.

German car leasing company Sixt Leasing had the benefit of meeting more than 30 investors and seeing another car leasing company print a deal before coming to market on Tuesday. However, based on order book size and pricing, this backdrop didn't help much.

Prominent German member of the European Parliament, Markus Ferber, has put down suggestions that European regulators should be granted powers to temporarily exempt market participants from regulations.

Guarantor: Federal Republic of Germany

Two pieces of news this week highlight how environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing is conquering the capital markets. But both carry a risk of intellectual laziness.

KfW drew its largest ever benchmark book this week while visiting the seven year tenor, a part of the euro curve that has been red hot for issuers for several weeks and that SSA bankers still has plenty to offer borrowers next week. The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) is lining up a deal for next week, although bankers are suggesting it looks at the long end.

A four week wait for a new corporate hybrid deal came to an end this week with $2.3bn of supply. The levels of oversubscription, however, showed that plenty of demand still remains as investors clamour for the enhanced yields on offer compared to senior debt.

KfW took home €5bn in the seven year part of the euro curve, which has been red hot for a few weeks, with bankers citing low second quarter supply as particularly supportive of conditions and suggesting there is plenty more interest for further trades in the tenor. The European Financial Stability Facility is lining up a deal for next week — although bankers are suggesting it looks at the long end.

Several of the earliest Euro private placements will mature in the second, third and fourth quarters of 2018. As Euro PP agents gear up for their first serious spate of refinancings, the market faces a test: will its inaugural issuers remain loyal?