Italy

Wind Tre, the Italian telecoms group, delivered Europe's largest ever high yield bond issue this week, a €7.3bn deal that has raised the bar for the market and led to expectations that more sponsors will follow suit amid heady investor demand.

In an otherwise quiet week with many companies in corporate close periods, there were two large equity block trades on Monday night, in Moncler, the Italian designer of luxury coats and jackets, and VAT Group, the Swiss maker of vacuum valves.

The European high yield bond pipeline this week brought €1bn of single-B rated offerings in euros and sterling from new issuers, giving hope to those working for a bigger borrower base for the market.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) resumed trading on the Borsa Italiana this week, with its shares opening more than 35% below the level at which the Italian state recapitalised the bank.

Euro corporate bond issuance was much cooler on Tuesday after Monday’s fireworks. “Maybe everybody parties on day one and is a bit hung over on day two,” mused one syndicate banker.

Wind Tre, the Italian telecoms company, issued its €7.3bn senior secured bond deal on Tuesday, a day ahead of schedule, and priced all four tranches at the tight end of guidance.

Nearly all of Banca Carige’s subordinated bondholders have approved a crucial bond exchange, shifting attention to the bank’s equity capital increase in November.

Rating: —/—/BBB

After utility companies dominated the investment grade benchmark corporate bond market last week, Iren followed this week with a debut green bond that was priced tight to its secondary curve.

Is this bond expensive or are BTPs cheap? That was the question investors considering Wednesday’s debut corporate bond issue from Italian supermarket chain Esselunga had to answer. But there was more to come as an Italian high yield borrower also raised funds at sub-2% writes Nigel Owen.

This week, Esselunga, a 60 year old Italian supermarket chain issued its debut corporate bonds. It is rated Baa2/BBB-, the same as its own government.

Salini Impregilo, the Italian construction firm, printed new bonds with a coupon under 2% on Thursday, becoming only the third high yield borrower to duck under the hurdle this year.