Loans and High Yield

SC Lowy co-founder and CEO Michel Löwy talks to GlobalCapital about developing a DCM business, Italy and entrepreneurship.

The European leveraged loan market is starting to look a lot like it did in May, with a table full of multi-billion deals and bankers concerned about how much this spike in issuance could play into investors’ hands.

Bway, the US container maker, is including €475m of euro bonds in the leveraged financing for its $1bn acquisition of rival Industrial Container Services, in a sign of the increasing attractiveness of euro high yield markets.

Speciality chemicals maker Synthomer and hotel group Radisson Hospitality began roadshows for debut high yield bond offerings in the European market this week, undaunted by recent investor pushback. Meanwhile, Smurfit Kappa, the packaging group, added LBO funding to the high yield pipeline.

Chu Kong Petroleum and Natural Gas Steel Pipe Holdings has entered into a standstill period for a $72m bond that was due earlier this year.

China's Zhenro Properties Group opted for a slightly unusual bookbuilding process for its debut public dollar transaction, paying a yield of 11.5% for a two year bond.

DBS's Singapore-based syndicate banker Cleaven Yu is set to head up a new debt capital markets origination team in Shanghai from next month.

VPBank Finance, the consumer finance arm of state-owned Vietnam Prosperity Bank, has closed its loan at $185m with 13 participants joining during syndication.

Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) is making a quick return to the loan market for an up to $300m fundraising.

A new drive to encourage bondholders to "engage" with issuers — jargon for asking them to improve their behaviour — is set to be started by a well known corporate bond investor who has joined an NGO.

Fierce competition for clients among law firms advising borrowers and investors is stoking up disputes over loosening bond covenants, said high yield market participants in Europe this week. The number of deals pulled has already surpassed 2017 figures as a result, but both sides in the battle show little sign of giving way. Victor Jimenez reports.

Equity markets in Asia went into a tailspin on Tuesday after trade tensions between the US and China ratcheted up. While the region’s bourses found some support in the following days, more disruption is probably on the way. Rashmi Kumar reports.