HSBC

Violent volatility as bond investors adapted to a new rates landscape following the election of Donald Trump as US president quelled demand for public sector paper this week, with one issuer understood to have opted against bringing a planned deal. There is hope that calm will return in time for the January funding rush — but some fear the president-elect represents a continuous risk to market harmony.

The Schuldschein market is finishing its busiest year ever with the foot on the gas, with more than 20 deals in the market at once. Investor demand is not expected to dip as a result of the scrum, but some deals may not see brimming levels of oversubscription, according to bankers.

Varta AG, the German micro-batteries manufacturer spun out of the historic Varta Group in 2002, has announced the price range for its Frankfurt IPO, aiming to raise €150m.

Banks and insurers have avoided printing senior or subordinated debt in the euro market this week, after determining that the recent rates volatility meant they would have to pay up for the privilege.

Bank of Baroda has rolled out its $300m three year into general syndication with the help of four leads. Pricing is close to what State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender, paid for its last three year facility.

Bayer successfully pulled off what was arguably this year’s biggest European ECM deal on Tuesday night, with a €4bn mandatory convertible and €1.5bn delta equity placement. But although both were fully sold and have traded stably, a good number of deal-playing investors are still putting in small orders.

Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten has fallen just shy of full subscription with its first ever dollar sustainability bond, as bankers lamented a volatile backdrop in one of the last clear funding windows of the year. GlobalCapital understands that choppy markets put off another borrower from issuing a dollar green bond.

Bayer, the German life sciences group, picked Tuesday night to launch the first part of its $19bn equity financing for its $66bn takeover of Monsanto. Bayer's deal comes as equity markets are revitalised by the new conviction that Western policy is shifting to reflation.

China Huarong Asset Management went three for three on Tuesday, raising $3bn over three tranches in its third deal of the year. But given the timing of its transaction, the bad debt manager was forced to pay a juicy premium as markets remain volatile after the US election.

Therma Power, part of Philippine company Aboitiz Power Corp, is accessing the offshore loan market for a $650m unsecured financing.

The deal the equity-linked bond market has been awaiting for months has arrived this evening. Bayer, the German life sciences group, has launched a €4bn mandatorily convertible issue as the first part of its $19bn equity financing for its takeover of Monsanto.

Groupe SEB, the French maker of household appliances, issued its first convertible bond on Tuesday, raising €150m at a negative yield, as part of the financing for an acquisition.