Loans and High Yield

Netherlands-based telecoms firm Altice, one of the European leveraged finance market’s leading issuers, held a lender call at 3pm London time on Thursday for €1.6bn of loan refinancings in euros, and more in dollars.

French recycling firm Paprec and US Reit Medical Properties followed the path trodden by other eight issuers this week, entering the high yield market on Tuesday and pricing their deals after short roadshows.

While low oil prices have caused financial problems for many borrowers in the Nordic high yield market, the opposite has been true for the unrated Finnish airline Finnair, which will open a roadshow for a sub-benchmark sized offering on Friday.

Cerba has increased its buyout term loan to €794m after dropping a planned bond. It is the second successive large cap buyout this year in which that has happened.

Chinese local government financing vehicle (LGFV) Fujian Zhanglong Group wrapped up a $200m tap of its bonds this week, as it aimed to get its funding out of the way ahead of any unpredictable moves in the US Treasury yield, said bankers close to the trade.

Hong Kong-listed Fosun International ventured out with a new offering on Thursday following reverse enquiry and on the back of the FOMC meeting. Sources in the market said secondary markets reacted positively to the rate hike.

Six borrowers announced offerings in the European high yield bond market on Monday as borrowers looked to beat what could have been disruptive Dutch elections two days later.

The Greek Organisation of Football Prognostics (OPAP), the Greek gambling company, launched a sub-benchmark sized bond with a yield range below 4% on Wednesday — the first high yield from Greece this year.

Spie, the French technical services provider, brought the first new leveraged buy-out financing in the euro high yield bond market for three months this week with a €600m seven year senior unsecured bond.

Wells Fargo Asset Management has hired a new portfolio manager in its ECM Asset Management subsidiary.

Wednesday’s Dutch general election has not put the brakes on corporate bond issuance as it was expected to, probably because investors are expecting a fragmented result ending in a coalition, rather than a market-unfriendly all out vote for the far right.

Guorui Properties sealed a $300m debut international deal after offering investors a slightly unusual structure in order to secure a lower yield.