HSBC

The UK higher education sector maintained its love affair with capital markets this week, as the University of Leeds announced a roadshow for its debut bond.

The prospect of a huge financing package to back ChemChina’s $43bn acquisition of Syngenta has left bankers guessing how the two banks arranging the funding are going to structure and distribute the debt, especially as the lenders are working under separate mandates. Despite their size, the loans are expected to be well supported thanks to abundant liquidity in Europe and the target’s strong credentials, writes Shruti Chaturvedi.

Labeyrie Fine Foods, the French producer of smoked salmon and foie gras, on Wednesday sold a €80m tap of its 2021 secured notes to finance the acquisition of food producers Pére Olive and King Cuisine from Aqualande.

The European Investment Bank and Nederlandse Waterschapsbank priced deals on a day in which another issuer pulled a trade.

In a secretive deal that has only come to light now, NBAD signed $1bn of tightly priced one year loans with five close relationship banks at the end of last year. The lenders were Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Crédit Agricole, Citigroup, HSBC and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.

Kommunalbanken (KBN) are set to price the first five year dollar bond for three weeks on Wednesday while Italy’s 30 year bond was the first SSA issuance in the tenor for 2016.

Two banks are working on separate loans for financing to back ChemChina's $43bn cash offer to acquire Swiss company Syngenta.

The wave of Chinese acquisitions of Western companies has reached a new peak, with confirmation that state-owned ChemChina has sealed the deal to buy Syngenta, the Swiss agrichemicals and seeds business, for $43bn, as China seeks to secure its food supply.

Turk Eximbank took the emerging markets by surprise this week, jumping in early on Monday to print a $500m five year and reopen Turkey primary bonds this year.

Kommunalbanken is readying a five year bond in what will be the first dollar benchmark in the tenor for three weeks. Meanwhile, European Investment Bank priced a more conservative three year bond.

Italy has sold the largest ever 30 year bond in euros, a trade that is likely to inspire other issuers into the tenor amid what some bankers are calling a key time for the SSA market.

Argentina’s government reopened negotiations with holdout creditors on Monday after securing a $5bn loan from seven global banks last week.