Loans and High Yield

A handful of issuers decided to turn to the bond market on Tuesday, looking for a crucial window just one day before the US Federal Reserve makes its decision on the trajectory of interest rates.

UK financial software firm Misys launched a $1.5bn equivalent refinancing loan package on Monday with a bank meeting in London.

French retail group Fnac has begun a roadshow for €650m of seven year notes, starting on Monday and following a bumper week for issuance in the high yield market.

Jiangsu Fang Yang Group is set to become the latest Chinese local government financing vehicle to issue a dollar-denominated bond, picking banks to arrange the offering.

Intralot, the Greek gambling operator and technology supplier, has priced its €250m senior five year non-call three bond with a coupon of 6.75% at par which, even at the wide end of guidance, was not sufficient to attract some investors.

Pricing is growing tight in the European leveraged loan market — very tight. Investors are moaning, but they will receive little sympathy from buyers of other asset classes.

This was the week the European high yield bond market had been hoping for: five days doing deals for single-B rated sponsor-led mergers, double-B grade corporate acquisitions and pure reverse Yankees, the perfect showcase of its funding abilities after half a year spent amid short spasms of limited issuance.

It is open season for repricings in the levloan market and lenders are feeling the squeeze. Two firms, one Austrian and one US, launched requests on Wednesday. They followed SIG Combibloc and Ineos Styrolution’s lead in exploiting ever friendlier conditions for issuers looking for cheaper debt, writes Max Bower.

Thom Europe, the French jewellery retailer owned by private equity firm Bridgepoint, sold a €190m tap of its 2019s to fund the acquisition of Stroili Group, an Italian peer.

Ineos-owned styrene manufacturer Styrolution tightened guidance on its €1.1bn refinancing on Thursday while altering the structure of the deal, in a market dominated by refinancings.

Hong Kong-based WeLab is set to dip its toes in the Asian syndicated loans market for a $50m borrowing, potentially fuelling a trend of fintech start-up lenders hitting the wholesale market for funds.

State Bank of India (SBI) succeeded in pricing the first offshore Basel III additional tier one (AT1) offering from an Indian name this week, but a bullish pricing strategy meant orders were muted and it has struggled in secondary. Despite the glitches, many believe the deal has set an important benchmark, writes Addison Gong.