Loans and High Yield

The investment grade bond and loan markets embraced the September rush with gusto this week, but the high yield bond and leveraged loan sectors look like they need a little more time to limber up.

Predictions for European high yield bond issuance in September range from the optimistic to those who say the cupboard is bare. But do not underestimate the market's resilience — for the right deal, investors could come out in droves.

TenCate, the Dutch textiles technology group, has broken the new issue silence in leveraged loans by beginning to market a €520m term loan. But bankers say a fairly empty September pipeline, coupled with heightened market volatility, could make the market's return to work more tentative than hoped.

Akelius Residential Property, the Swedish property group, will begin a roadshow on Monday, September 7, for its first high yield bond in euros.

Taiwanese leasing company Chailease International Financial Service is considering raising the size of its borrowing marginally to $130m, after six banks joined the deal during syndication.

Barclays has made a clutch of new hires in Australia in recent months, with the latest being Duncan Hogg as its new head of M&A, as the bank looks to bolster its cross-border M&A, financing and associated risk management businesses.

Dealers have cut their fixed income inventories by 75% since 2008, according to staff at the Bank of England, who questioned bond market liquidity in a timely blog post on Thursday.

Asklepios — ECOM — Abraaj — JLIF — Albaraka Türk — Kenya Pipeline Co — Kernel — Nibulon

Levfin specialist firm DebtXplained on Thursday said covenants on Abengoa’s €375m unsecured bond leave investors less protected than on competitors’ notes.

China cut rates this week for the fifth time since November as it tried to stem the tide of a slowing economy, which has prompted a fire sale across the region’s equities and debt market. But observers are questioning the effectiveness of the cuts, which does not bode well for the pipeline for the rest of 2015, write Narae Kim and Rev Hui.

A large financing for the acquisition of Tesco’s South Korean asset, Homeplus, has created a stir in the market, coming amid a dearth of private equity-backed leveraged deals in Asia. But the role of foreign banks may be limited by abundant onshore liquidity and the presence of domestic funds, which are keen to take on junior debt, writes Shruti Chaturvedi.

Mizuho has bolstered its corporate acquisition finance team with a new hire as it strengthens its Asian capabilities.