Morgan Stanley

Vodafone’s £3.4bn mandatorily convertible bond with share buyback language, sold to huge demand this week, may have created a new financial product. Certainly it will set off a maelstrom of analysis and pitching to clients, as banks seek other companies willing to try this daring structure. Jon Hay and Aidan Gregory report.

The root of arbitrage is the same thing being priced differently in two markets. As markets have got bigger and more sophisticated, arbitrage has become harder to find.

Two Turkish borrowers hit the market on Thursday, following in the wake of a Koç Holding trade earlier in the week and making it Turkey’s busiest week for deals in almost three years.

Dollar SSA issuance is expected to pick up next week, thanks to a change in the euro/dollar basis swap that is making issuance in the currency more attractive for euro funders. There was still a smattering of dollar trades this week, including a Sofr-linked floater that broke new ground for the format.

Shares in Funding Circle Holdings, the UK peer-to-peer lending platform, closed up on Thursday despite the company reporting a widening loss in 2018 because of the costs of its £440m IPO on the London Stock Exchange in September.

The European Central Bank struck a decidedly dovish tone at its meeting on Thursday, meaning there were no nasty surprises for SSAs planning bond issues in the coming days. A French agency is on screens for a deal in dollars this Friday, while euro and dollar benchmarks are slated for next week.

Two Turkish borrowers hit the market on Thursday, one returning to the market after a six year hiatus. Coming in the wake of a Koc Holding deal this week, the three deals make this Turkey’s busiest week for deals in almost three years.

Singapore-based internet company Sea has raised $1.35bn after boosting the size of a follow-on offering of American Depository Shares (ADS).

Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, may be facing what could be one of the biggest disruptions in its history, in the shape of Brexit, but its approach to the bond market on Tuesday was smooth. Having roadshowed last week, it glided in on the wave of credit demand and landed this year’s fourth corporate 15 year issue in euros.

Trustpilot, the Danish independent review platform, has completed its series E equity funding round, raising $55m to finance investment in marketing and its technology platform.

Vodafone brought to market on Tuesday its second mandatorily convertible bond that comes with language indicating Vodafone will buy the shares back — a second attempt to achieve the corporate financing holy grail of 100% equity credit without diluting shareholders.

Singapore-based internet company Sea is planning to issue a new chunk of its US-listed equity, according to a filing with the regulator.