JP Morgan

European credit markets had a nasty turn today, which salespeople and analysts blamed on news that Bill Gross, the so-called “Bond King’”, had decided to leave Pimco, the world’s biggest bond investor – though perhaps just because they wanted something to blame. Yet Babcock International, the UK engineering services group, still managed to issue a €550m bond – its first in the European market.

Tele Columbus, the German cable television operator, has today unveiled a €500m refinancing loan, which comes to the market two days after the company launched an IPO.

Adidas, the German sportswear maker, issued its first bond for five years today, with a €1bn seven and 12 year offering. Adidas is a high quality name, but 12 years is an unusually long maturity for an unrated issuer, and with financial markets jittery again today, the deal may not have whizzed off the books as much as it might have in a more bullish atmosphere. Bankers said it widened sharply in the aftermarket.

China Investment Corp has raised S$396m ($311m) by selling a 4.5% stake in agricultural commodities company Noble Group, in a highly competitive deal that resulted in Noble shares trading lower.

China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International made its debut in the dollar bond market on September 25, raising $500m with a Reg S/144A five year issue.

Samsung SDS has filed for its long awaited IPO and is looking to raise as much as W1.2tr ($1.1bn) at the top end of the range. At that size it would be the biggest IPO in South Korea since 2010.

European credit markets had a nasty turn today, which salespeople and analysts blamed on news that Bill Gross, the so-called ‘bond king’, had decided to leave Pimco, the world’s biggest bond investor. Yet Babcock International, the UK engineering services group, still managed to issue a €550m bond – its first in the European market, according to Dealogic.

Bestway, the privately owned UK groceries wholesaler, has tightened pricing on £725m of loans amid high demand. The financing is for its £620m acquisition of the Co-operative Group's pharmacy division.

South Korean automobile manufacturer Kia Motors Corp is tipped to have mandated six lenders for a $578m loan that will finance the setting up of a new facility in Mexico.

CGN Meiya Power Holdings has raised HK$1.76bn ($228m) from its Hong Kong IPO by pricing the deal close to the top of the price range. An overwhelming response from retail investors meant the company ended up triggering the maximum clawback option available.

Huatai Securities made its inaugural dollar issue on Thursday, September 25, selling a $400m credit enhanced five year bond. Despite less than ideal market conditions, the borrower’s decision to follow in the footsteps of other Chinese financial names that have debuted with a standby letter of credit (SBLC) backed structure helped it to gain a strong following.

Hana Bank has become only the second Korean lender to tap the dollar market for a tier two bond, pricing a $300m issue on September 25 that was multiple times oversubscribed. But some of the credit for success has to go the country’s regulator for tweaking its Basel III rules before the transaction.