Loans and High Yield

CVC’s secondary buyout of building material firm Stark Group will crank leverage back up at the group, following a tough year when previous owner Lone Star battened down the hatches and paid down debt during an initial scramble for liquidity when the coronavirus pandemic struck.

Shurgard, one of Europe’s largest self-storage companies, has returned to the US private placement market for the third time, according to market sources. The company is only the second from Europe to launch a PP deal this year.

Solar and wind power company ReNew Power added further momentum to India’s green bond market this week with a new $460m deal.

GlobalCapital and HSBC hosted a virtual roundtable in mid-January to discuss the blowout start to high yield bond issuance in 2021. Leading market experts highlighted how Asia’s debt markets have shifted — and how borrowers are positioning themselves for the rest of the year.

A number of smaller European banks are trying to buy Schuldscheine on the secondary market, according to sources with knowledge of the situation, in order to post it as collateral to receive cheaper funding from the ECB ahead of a March 31 deadline.

Asda has launched the largest ever sterling high yield bond, and the largest single tranche in the whole European high yield market, to fund the takeover of the UK supermarket group by the Issa Brothers and TDR Capital.

Lombard Odier has made two senior hires to help cultivate sustainable private credit strategies.

Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank is in discussions with lenders for a comeback to the loan market.

Chinese solar power company GCL New Energy Holdings has met the threshold needed to restructure its debt, following its default on a dollar bond at the end of January.

European loan bankers have been trying to convince corporates to switch their loans to risk-free rates sooner rather than later as the Libor deadline looms, but so far borrowers are largely ignoring their pleas.

Chinese property company Fantasia Holdings Group Co returned to the debt market this week for a $150m tap to meet some imminent refinancing needs.

HSBC loans banker Ashish Sharma has taken on additional responsibilities, co-leading Asia Pacific leveraged and acquisition finance with Rachel Watson.