Italy

Inter Media and Communication, the operator of FC Milan’s broadcast and sponsorship business, was out with its first high yield bond offering this week. Debutants have increased their presence in the market since June.

Banca Imi has raised €250m of equity capital for a special purpose acquisition company, in partnership with DeA Capital, the alternative asset manager owned by the De Agostini Group.

Underwriters of Banca Carige’s €500m rights issue were jubilant on Thursday, when the results of the deal showed it had attracted about €200m of demand in the open market — almost exactly the amount needed for the banks to avoid having to buy shares, and underlining that the Italian lender has been rescued in an orderly way by private sector investors, a first in recent Italian history, writes Jon Hay.

Italian gambling company Gamenet Group priced a €72m Milan IPO this week after bookrunners slashed the price and reduced the size at the end of last week.

Crédit Agricole Cariparma issued a €750m eight year Obbligazioni Bancarie Garantite on Monday at the tightest spread to mid-swaps for an Italian deal since the sovereign credit crisis.

Italian state-owned railway operator Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane sold its first green bond on Thursday.

On Thursday German telecoms company Deutsche Telekom sold its third bond with a 2024 maturity, while Italian state owned railway operator Ferrovie Dello Stato issued its first green bond.

Special purpose acquisition companies continue to flourish in Italy, with several new vehicles having been launched this year.

Banca Imi is looking to raise €200m of equity capital for a special purpose acquisition company, in partnership with DeA Capital, the alternative asset manager owned by the De Agostini Group.

After a delayed start at the end of last week, Banca Carige’s €500m rights issue is under way. So far it has been a “rollercoaster”, a source close to the deal said, but its promoters are delighted that the Genoese bank has got its money, thanks to the multi-handed underwriting agreement.

Unipol Gruppo was unable to tighten pricing on its new senior unsecured deal on Monday, as financial institutions crowded the market with new transactions ahead of Thanksgiving.

Banca Carige has launched its €560m equity capital raising, after two days of frenetic talks on Thursday and Friday, following the bank’s surpise announcement on Thursday morning that it had been unable to form an underwriting syndicate. Several new investors have agreed to invest in the deal, which will be at 60 new shares for every one held.