Loans and High Yield

Citadel has cut its operation investing in European high yield, with the departure of one senior portfolio manager who first worked at the firm in 2003.

Moody’s slashed Ford’s rating from Baa3 to Ba1 on Monday, placing the company in precarious crossover territory, as the other agencies have the firm on negative outlook. Other falling angels may land in the junkyard soon.

Swedish credit management company Intrum this week completed a €850m issue of new senior notes, pricing at 3% and increasing the size of the offering from the initial €750m. UK-based gambling giant International Game Technology also dipped into the “most issuer-friendly market ever” with €500m bond.

Chinese home appliance retailer Suning.com is seeking a $500m term loan to support its acquisition of French supermarket company Carrefour’s mainland China business. Although there are doubts about Carrefour’s future operations, bankers are still keen to maintain a relationship with the borrower.

Wuhan Financial Holdings (Group) Co found an opportunity to return to the bond market with a $300m tap, getting strong support from its 10-member syndicate team.

Swedish credit management company Intrum and UK-based gambling giant International Game Technology dipped into the favourable markets again with big €750m and €500m issues .

Pinewood Studios has launched a new £500m six year non-call two bond offering to fund a dividend, after signing a deal with Disney to lease the studio’s space for the next decade, securing the firm’s income. Seen as a corporate issuer, Pinewood’s leverage looks sky-high, but the bond documentation attempts to rebrand it as a real estate company.

Indorama Ventures Public Co sold its first dollar bond on Thursday. While unrated, the company’s rarity value appealed with investors.

Indian renewables company ReNew Power took home $300m from a bond that appealed to a niche, but captive, investor base.

Six Greater China borrowers, including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Macau) and an unrated property developer, have wooed bond investors to their new dollar deals.

China’s Youyuan International Holdings, a wrapping tissue paper maker, has defaulted on a total of HK$2.6bn ($332m) of debt, including a $135m loan sealed in April.

High-yield bond funds are a lot more exposed to a liquidity shortfall than funds for other asset classes, according to a stress test developed by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). The publication of ESMA’s results came in the same week as a Bank of England official discussed solutions to fund fire-sales.