Loans and High Yield

Anta Sports Products has mandated six banks for a €2.2bn loan to back the €4.6bn acquisition of Finnish sports brand Amer Sports Oyj.

Shimao Property Holdings managed to raise a sizeable $570m from its bond return on Monday, using up the last of its annual fundraising quota. But to get to the chunky size at this time of the year, the Chinese company had to offer investors a generous premium.

Private equity firm EQT closed its largest direct lending fund this week, as market participants forecast a busy year for the market in 2019.

GlobalCapital Asia has spent the last two months talking to banks and their clients in a bid to determine the most impressive capital markets transactions and advisers across Asia ex-Japan in 2018. We are pleased to begin our awards announcements in the loan market.

Logan Property Holdings Co made a quick venture into the market on Thursday to use the remainder of its offshore issuance quota for the year. The typically price-sensitive issuer willingly left something on the table for investors this time around to ensure their support in 2019.

China’s Haitong Securities priced a dual-currency transaction on Thursday, heading to the euro market for cheaper funding. Another issuer, Peking University Founder Group, was looking to price an up to €100m deal on Friday.

Cinema operator Vue International cancelled its £833m-equivalent leveraged loan offering amid increasing investor aversion to sterling risk, as the UK government and Parliament descended into a full-blown clash over the conditions for separation from the European Union.

Three Chinese education companies have ventured out for new loans, adding a dash of diversity to the syndication market. But they come at a time when lenders are increasingly conservative about the sector, owing to stricter regulations and amid concerns around borrowers’ financial performance, writes Pan Yue.

Loans syndicate bankers in Asia are keeping busy until the end of the year with new deal launches from across the region.

Dongying Fangyuan Nonferrous Metals and Dongying Lufang Metals Material have approached retail lenders for a joint borrowing of $200m.

On Monday, the euro corporate bond market delivered its largest ever deal in December. However, on Tuesday, there was no follow-up and the dramatic fall in global equity markets has led some investors to call the end of 2018 from a new issue perspective.

The risk appetite of high yield bond investors in Europe continues to pall, as Italian construction firm Cooperativa Muratori e Cementisti di Ravenna filed for creditor protection this week.