Germany

Asklepios Kliniken, a German chain of hospitals, raised more than double its initial target of €300m of funding in the Schuldschein market, showing the market’s appreciation for German borrowers from familiar sectors.

Sparkasse Hannover has joined Wüstenrot Bausparkasse in the euro covered bond pipeline. Both issuers are likely to get strong executions for their sub-benchmark Pfandbriefe which may no longer need to offer a premium relative to benchmark deals. At the same time, Sparebank 1 Boligkreditt has mandated leads to market its first covered bond in sterling.

Bankers working on the Frankfurt IPO of HelloFresh, the German meal kit delivery company backed by Rocket Internet, have revised the price range to €10.25 to €11.50, the upper half of the €9 to €11.50 initial range.

Guarantor: Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia

Three European agencies and a Washington supranational tapped 10 year Australian dollar bonds this week, as the demand for long end Kangaroo paper remains healthy.

RBC Capital Markets has hired a former Nomura banker to run its M&A business in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

NRW.Bank brought a large sterling bond this week that was more than doubly subscribed, in what was a “great outcome”, according to bankers away from the trade. The deal came as the UK Debt Management Office picked the tenor for its next syndication.

The embattled chief executive of Deutsche Börse, Carsten Kengeter, has resigned after a multi-million euro settlement over alleged insider trading was thrown out by Frankfurt's local court on Monday.

Goshawk, the Irish aircraft lessor, is returning to the Schuldschein market, a year after its $95m debut last October. While borrowers seeking dollar Schuldscheine are few and far between, the product is growing popular among Asian lenders with natural dollar needs — which might spark the interest of a wider range of borrowers.

JP Morgan made an aggressive manoeuvre in the equity-linked bond market on Tuesday night by placing a $250m tap of BASF’s innovative bond with warrants, having outbid other banks, including Deutsche Bank, which had structured and led the original deal.

Ringier, the Swiss media company, launched a €50m Schuldschein on Tuesday that is expected to attract a wider range of investors than its first outing in the market last December, a successful €50m issue.

The European high yield bond pipeline this week brought €1bn of single-B rated offerings in euros and sterling from new issuers, giving hope to those working for a bigger borrower base for the market.