Loans and High Yield

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp has increased its commitment to European leveraged finance, buying a $2.2bn portfolio of leveraged buyout loans from GE Capital.

In the absence of a eurozone catastrophe, which European high yield bankers and investors do not expect, the market is set either for a tolerable sell-off or a moderate rally. The Greek referendum on Sunday will decide which.

Dutch conveyor belt provider Ammeraal Beltech has ridden through the sour mood infecting leveraged finance markets, closing a €300m loan that backs its buyout by Advent International.

Greece’s teetering to the brink of default this week rattled capital markets from Monday, but for syndicated lending any difference in mood appeared confined to leveraged loans.

Orion Engineered Carbons has become the fourth company to pull a leveraged loan this month, as Greek-induced volatility batters the market.

Spanish construction and energy company Abengoa may be on course to recovering investor trust after Standard & Poor’s backed its strategy to reign in its leverage burden.

3i group has shown its belief in floating rate bonds, launching a fund that will target the asset class on both sides of the Atlantic.

Asia ex-Japan’s bond market has not avoided the shockwaves from the Greek crisis, with debt issuance grinding to a halt this week. But while most attention is on Athens, market observers in Asia said that the real threat is closer to home, writes Narae Kim.

Taiwanese leasing company, Chailease International Finance Corp, raised Rmb1.8bn ($296m) on June 26 through an offshore renminbi-denominated syndicated loan arranged by ANZ.

Rubber company Halcyon Agri Corporation completed a $413m loan on July 1 for working capital and to refinance an acquisition loan that was taken last year.

Dutch conveyor belt provider Ammeraal Beltech has bucked the sour mood infecting leveraged finance markets, closing a €300m loan that backs its buyout by Advent International.

Syndicate bankers fully expected a shutdown of corporate bonds this week amid Europe’s Greek turmoil, since many issuers had taken advantage of rosier conditions in the year’s first half and could afford to sit out volatile markets until at least the Greek referendum on Sunday.