Loans and High Yield

Shriram Transport Finance Co appealed to investors in the US by selling a social bond that flew off the shelves, allowing the Indian non-banking financial company to raise $500m.

Improved market conditions and a more realistic pricing target allowed a failed deal in December from a local government financing vehicle (LGFV) to sail through this week, while two more property developers joined an offshore funding spree from the sector.

The sustainability-linked loan market is a glorious mess.

The loan market’s trade bodies are preparing to give new guidance about how to ensure sustainability-linked loans — in which borrowers can get a margin reduction if they hit sustainability targets — are genuinely “ambitious”. Bankers want to protect the market from rising concerns that some deals’ terms are too easy on the borrowers.

Norwegian oil exploration and production company Aker BP took advantage of its second investment grade rating, out of three, received in November, to position itself as an investment grade issuer and print a dual tranche five and 10 year deal this week.

Kentucky-based speciality chemicals company Ashland sold a €500m eight year non-call life unsecured high yield issue on Thursday, bringing European high yield's first proper deal of the year, as part of its efforts to clean up its capital structure and switch to an unsecured financing profile.

Altice International jumped at this week’s strong market conditions, launching a €2.8bn-equivalent refinancing, hitting the lowest ever coupon level for the telecoms group and saving itself €187m in annual interest. The strong execution, with a size increase and performance in the aftermarket, shows a market wide open for other well-followed high yield names looking for a refinancing opportunity.

Lincoln Financing, the holding company of LeasePlan, hass tapped its senior secured 2024s for an extra €500m, looking to pay down payment-in-kind notes and fund its interest reserve. The deal follows last year’s €1.35bn issue, which paid down debt incurred when a sponsor consortium bought the company in 2016.

RBC Capital Markets is beefing up financial sponsors, aiming to boost its European business during 2020, writes David Rothnie.

Crossover credit Cellnex, the Spanish mobile phone mast owner, offered investment grade bond investors the chance to pick up some spread on Thursday, while unrated Air France-KLM waits in the wings.

Shares in Sirius Minerals, the UK firm that is battling to build a mine for polyhalite fertiliser beneath the North York Moors, rallied significantly on Wednesday after the company said it was in advanced takeover discussions with Anglo American.

Chinese real estate issuers dominated the dollar bond market this week, with 16 developers pricing deals by Wednesday. Ample liquidity and a risk-on sentiment allowed most issuers to go long and cheap, but the mid-week volatility in the global market proved costly to some companies, writes Addison Gong.