Goldman Sachs

Europe’s high grade corporate bond investors had their pick of US names this week, with issuers cramming in to raise €7.2bn of debt across 10 tranches.

Global Fashion Group, the Frankfurt-listed online fashion retailer focused on emerging markets, has successfully issued its debut convertible bond, despite volatility caused by a selloff of technology stocks in the United States.

Enel, the Italian power and gas company, proved that demand still exists in euros for chunky hybrid debt with a €2.2bn dual tranche deal on Wednesday that saw more than three times oversubscription at peak demand and offered no new issue concession.

Coupang, an e-commerce company, has kicked off bookbuilding for an up to $3.6bn IPO that is set to be the largest ever US listing by a South Korean issuer.

Online car marketplace Autohome has launched the roadshow for a secondary listing in Hong Kong. The float of new and existing stock could raise up to HK$7.6bn ($983.2m).

Suez, the French water and waste services group, sold €750m of zero coupon bonds on Tuesday, despite being in the midst of fighting off an €11.3bn hostile takeover bid from domestic rival Veolia.

KfW rebooted the short end of the euro public sector bond market on Tuesday with a well subscribed trade which offered a modest new issue premium. The deal shared the euro SSA market with the State of Baden-Württemberg’s debut green bond.

Coca-Cola, the US beverage company, kicked the issuance week off in the European corporate market, with the borrower landing flat to fair value on two out of three tranches.

Four public sector borrowers announced new deals in the primary market on Monday ahead of the European Union’s much anticipated second transaction from its Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency programme this year, which is expected to arrive later in the week.

Dyal Capital, the US private equity firm that specialises in buying minority equity stakes in private equity and hedge fund managers, has employed a financing method — private placements securitized on fund cashflows — rarely seen before in its industry, writes Silas Brown.

Non-European names hit the euro market this week with a trio of US companies and Japan’s Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp (NTT) raising debt. But syndicate bankers say rising US rates are still way off the sweet spot that would make the euro market irresistible for all Reverse Yankee issuers.

Saudi Arabia sold its second euro denominated bond on Wednesday, achieving a negative yield — the first bond of its kind from a Middle East issuer. However, some in the market were underwhelmed with the transaction, which they say is evident in the deal statistics.