Loans and High Yield

On Friday, Unilever Spreads released guidance for its €4.6bn equivalent loan to fund its acquisition by KKR. French telecoms infrastructure group Circet also launched a smaller deal, a €570m loan package for its buyout by Advent. But investor demand isn't satisfied yet, say some market participants.

Bank of China joined its Chinese peers to sell floating rate notes (FRNs) offshore, while Fantasia Holdings Group Co added to the momentum in the high beta property sector. The two finished off an incredible week for both financial and corporate borrowers from the Mainland.

Vietnam’s state-owned VietinBank bagged commitments from 12 banks for its $100m loan during general syndication, with lenders from Europe, China and India jumping on-board.

Ignacio Blasco, who was a leveraged finance banker at Société Générale for 12 years, has joined investment bank Houlihan Lokey after a short spell in direct lending.

Euro high yield bond buyers have been offered €3.5bn of double-B rated new deals since borrowers returned after the mid-February break caused by volatility in US equity markets. But lower rated paper is on its way.

Private equity firm Advent International has agreed to buy UK electronics company Laird for around £1bn, in a purchase that will be financed with debt.

March could be the month Indian international bond issuance soars. Corporations from the country are ready to hit the offshore debt market as a weaker domestic market puts pressure on fundraising.

Modern Land (China) Co sold its third green dollar bond on Tuesday, as it remains the only Chinese green issuer from the high yield property sector.

Syndication of a $1bn loan for Lenovo Group got off to a roaring start with an encouraging turnout from banks at a Hong Kong roadshow this week. The Chinese company has made it clear it wants to recapture the top spot in the global personal computer market, but bankers are wary about how the firm will look to meet its goals. Shruti Chaturvedi reports.

Investors interested in Chinese property bonds had plenty to choose from this week. Eight high yield real estate names raised more than $2.4bn in dollar bonds, with yields ranging from low-6% to over 10%.

Before 2017, US crowd services provider Equinix had not issued a bond in euros. But it has now visited the European high yield market three times, having completed its latest deal on Wednesday.

Four of the six deals in the primary market in Asia on Tuesday were from Chinese real estate companies. But despite the inevitable competitive dynamics between the trades, Modern Land (China) Co, Yuzhou Properties Company, Guorui Properties and Tahoe Group Co were all able to meet their targets.