Loans and High Yield

Hong Kong and China-based fintech lender WeLab could be a sign of things to come in the Asian syndicated loans market as the start-up seeks out its debut borrowing. Some banks will no doubt cast off the industry as a fad and give it a miss. But now is as good a time as any to take a fresh look at fintech.

Delhi International Airport Private (Dial) is planning a comeback to the international debt market almost two years after its maiden offering, and is deciding between a dollar deal and a Masala bond.

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.