Goldman Sachs

Bayer clinched a $66bn agreement to buy Monsanto this week, forming a global leader in farming technology and promising a shower of capital markets transactions that will test debt and equity markets — but may also delight them.

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The Republic of Lithuania made fools of market doubters on Thursday, slapping down a long end euro trade with its lowest spread in a decade and a bigger than expected size of €450m. The deal sets a strong tone for the three known CEE sovereigns in the pipeline.

Goldman Sachs has signed up many of its major dealer counterparties to new CSA documents for non-centrally cleared OTC derivatives in the last couple of weeks, using a Euroclear service to manage the collateral transfers. BAML, Barclays, Credit Suisse, HSBC, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and RBS are some of the firms that signed the new agreements with Goldman between September 2 and September 6.

Thom Europe, the French jewellery retailer owned by private equity firm Bridgepoint, sold a €190m tap of its 2019s to fund the acquisition of Stroili Group, an Italian peer.

Postal Savings Bank of China and its potential HK$62.7bn ($8.1bn) IPO got off to a roaring start due to hedge fund demand. Oversubscribed on day one, it is on track to be the world’s largest IPO in two years. But an order book so far dominated by regional names is about to get a lot more global as management leaves Hong Kong for roadshows in the UK and US. Jonathan Breen reports.

Hon Hai Precision Industry sealed $1bn from a dual-tranche offering, seizing what is thought to be the last good window before the Fed’s decision on a September rate hike.

Lithuania was on track to print a tightly priced reopening of its 2035s on Thursday morning with bankers estimating a 4bp–13bp premium at initial price thoughts.

Bayer, the German life sciences company, has clinched an agreement with the board of Monsanto to buy the US company for an enterprise value of $66bn, to be financed with one of the largest rights issues in history.

On Wednesday, Bayer said that five banks have agreed to provide the hefty bridge loan for its $66bn acquisition of US agrochemicals specialist, Monsanto. But the $57bn deal is not yet being syndicated, according to one of Bayer’s relationship banks.

TMF Group, the business services provider based in Amsterdam, and Unilabs, the laboratory services firm from Geneva, have both launched loan refinancing packages with TMF holding bank meetings last Friday in London, Unilabs on Thursday.

Lithuania is lining up its first trade of 2016 and has picked two banks to lead a tap of its euro 2.125% 2035s.