JP Morgan

Public sector borrowers in the euro SSA market received strong demand in both the short and long ends of the curve on Tuesday. KfW took advantage of the blistering conditions to sell its first euro benchmark with a three year maturity since 2015, while Société du Grand Paris (SGP) sold its biggest ever bond.

The largest block trade of 2019 so far — a €1.5bn stake in Dutch payments firm Adyen — flew off the shelves on Monday night, as large long-only accounts, mostly from the US, bought big slices of it.

Embassy Office Parks Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) has global long-only investors on tenterhooks as it prepares to launch its smaller-than-expected Rp47.5bn ($683m) IPO, having filed the final terms for India’s first Reit listing.

High yield bond issuance in Europe is perking up, with several deals being marketed or just about to be launched. Beginning its roadshow on Monday was Sappi, the South African paper company, which wants to issue €450m to replace an older bond; starting on Tuesday is French car parts group Faurecia, seeking €500m.

Société du Grand Paris (SGP) mandated banks on Monday for its second benchmark green bond, following its debut last October. Meanwhile, KfW hit screens for a long three year benchmark, the agency’s third benchmark in euros this year.

Kommunekredit, Kommunalbanken (KBN) and World Bank hit screens for dollar deals on Monday, as bankers said that this week offers a decent window for issuance in the US currency.

Medacta, the Swiss maker of artificial human joints, has begun a process to list on the SIX Swiss Exchange before Easter. If it succeeds, it would be the first major company to complete an IPO in Europe this year.

The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka sealed a $2.4bn bond after shaking off investor concerns about the country’s political turmoil and ratings downgrades.

Link Real Estate Investment Trust has pulled off a record-breaking equity-linked deal, issuing the first green convertible notes in Asia Pacific, according to a source close to the transaction.

Whether Vodafone’s £3.44bn issue of two and three year mandatorily convertible bonds on Tuesday this week ends up being judged a corporate finance success for the company may take time to discover. But it is already clear it was a great hit with investors — much more so than the first time Vodafone issued the structure in 2016.

Vodafone’s £3.4bn mandatorily convertible bond with share buyback language, sold to huge demand this week, may have created a new financial product. Certainly it will set off a maelstrom of analysis and pitching to clients, as banks seek other companies willing to try this daring structure. Jon Hay and Aidan Gregory report.

The root of arbitrage is the same thing being priced differently in two markets. As markets have got bigger and more sophisticated, arbitrage has become harder to find.