Loans and High Yield

UK mining company Sirius Minerals kept the dream alive with a market update on Monday, unveiling discussions with potential investors over a $600m financing package. Sirius’s shares saw a meteoric rise of up to 28% on Monday morning but the initial excitement fizzled out quickly.

David Miller has become the new chief executive of Credit Suisse’s investment banking and capital markets (IBCM) unit, replacing James Amine.

State-owned Chinese bond issuer Tewoo Group Co has picked firms to manage $1.25bn of its offshore debt as maturities loom, and is eyeing a potential exchange offer.

Baring Private Equity Asia is seeking a $265m loan to support its acquisition of India’s CitiusTech.

Chinese government-owned Beijing Capital Group Co sold a $500m perpetual deal on Thursday, just a couple of weeks ahead of the scheduled call date of an old bond by its real estate arm.

Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup Joint Stock Co and its automobile subsidiary VinFast have launched a $500m loan into general syndication, after one bank joined at the senior stage.

Well-known issuers in high yield this week were best placed to benefit from strong market conditions, driven by central bank easing, the return of tourist money to the market, and receding worries of geopolitical crisis.

German pharmaceutical firm Stada is seeking €760m in new secured debt to finance recent acquisitions in eastern Europe, with Nomura leading a new senior secured term loan.

Ohio-based glass manufacturer Owens-Illinois (O-I) sold a euro-denominated green HY issue through BNP Paribas on Thursday, adding to the tiny clutch of leveraged credits to target deals at ESG-oriented investors — and locking in a storming result, with a size increase from €300m to €500m and pricing through the tight end of the initial range.

ING has appointed Martjin Bruins as global lead of its structured acquisition finance unit, alongside his existing role as head of the unit in London for origination.

A slump in big deals and a quest for fee growth is pushing the big banks into mid-market M&A to an extent that has not been witnessed before, writes David Rothnie.

The UK’s SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust has completed a €150m debt-backed acquisition of a portfolio of energy generation projects plus debt in Spain, in the company’s largest acquisition since its IPO a year ago.