Macquarie Group

Yihai International Holding launched its Hong Kong IPO last Thursday to raise HK$$889.2m ($114.6m), with the company choosing to go it alone without the aid of cornerstone investors.

NYX Gaming Group, the Las Vegas digital game supplier, has announced the signing of £120m of leveraged loans backing its acquisition of UK peer, OpenBet. UK competitors William Hill and Sky Betting & Gaming are partially funding the £270m purchase.

Macquarie Capital has hired Warrick Booth as a managing director in European DCM.

A member of Macquarie’s equity syndication team in Hong Kong is understood to have transferred to another role within the bank.

Macquarie’s merchant banking model makes it a rare bird in the post-crisis landscape, writes David Rothnie

Solera Holdings, the Texan car and property insurance claims processor, priced its $3.9bn acquisition debt package in line with revised guidance, after reshaping the debt structure in response to weak investor demand.

Solera Holdings’ $3.9bn debt acquisition package has been reduced, following insufficient demand for the $2bn-equivalent bond’s euro tranche.

All eyes in the European leveraged finance market are focused on Solera’s $3.9bn debt package, the only deal in play.

The hidden depth of demand in Europe’s corporate bond market was made amply clear on Monday, when Vodafone trounced market expectations that it would issue a €3bn bond — itself a large and bullish transaction — by raising €6bn.

Macquarie issued its inaugural covered bond on Thursday, meeting a strong reception with the five year €500m paper twice subscribed by investors. Westpac has also opened books on a $1.35bn deal, as Fitch said it expects Australian covered bond issuance to rise this year.

Solera, the US insurance claims processor, held bank meetings on Tuesday in New York and Wednesday in London for a $1.9bn term loan ‘B’, backing its $6.5bn acquisition by Vista Equity Partners.

Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank Group rose when it began trading after its IPO on Wednesday, having completed its separation from National Australia Bank with a £396m flotation.