Loans and High Yield

Sheng Ye Capital, a Hong Kong-listed financial services provider, has made its debut in the syndicated loan market. It is raising funds in offshore renminbi.

US private placement market insiders fear a round of early prepayments, as companies look to wriggle out of the straightjackets of financial covenants and issue public market bonds instead. Amendments brokered at the start of the coronavirus pandemic are up for review now, and sources think these talks will involve tough conversations between borrowers and lenders.

Rolls-Royce started marketing the bond leg of a multi-product recapitalisation and refinancing package on Monday, preparing an offering of more than £1bn-equivalent across three currencies.

Almost two thirds of companies are still unprepared for the transition away from Libor, as lenders in London say they are in “intensive” discussions with clients about the switch to risk free rates.

International SOS, a Singapore-based emergency medical assistance provider, is making its debut in the syndicated loan market for $320m.

Cineworld announced on Monday it was closing all of its 536 Regal Cinemas in the US and its 127 Cineworld and Picturehouse venues in the UK from Thursday, adding urgency to the company’s search for enough liquidity to see it through the Covid-19 crisis in cinema.

Friday’s confirmation that the Issa brothers, backed by TDR Capital, had won the auction for UK supermarket Asda, catapulted them into the super league of borrowers in European leveraged credit — the handful of entrepreneurs whose appetite for debt surpasses market appetite to lend to a single capital structure.

Indonesian property company Alam Sutera’s move to kick off an exchange offer last week to stave off pressing financial concerns was met with ratings downgrades from two of the three global ratings agencies.

Bank of America has promoted Jeff Tannenbaum, its head of debt capital markets and leveraged finance EMEA, to head of global capital markets for the region.

Better quality high yield borrowers spotted a market window on Tuesday, with Spanish retailer El Corte Ingles and Dutch chemicals firm OCI both launching well-flagged double-B rated bonds on the back of Monday’s stronger trading session.

Karri Vuori has joined UK mid-market M&A firm Cavendish Corporate Finance as a partner.

Engineering Group, an Italian IT services company, has returned to market after pulling a deal in June, for a second attempt at taking out the buyout bridge for its acquisition by Bain Capital and Neuberger Berman.