Morgan Stanley

Theresa May stunned the UK on Tuesday by calling a snap general election, but equity capital markets remain calm and the next wave of IPOs is becoming more visible, with two more new deals announced this week.

Misys, the UK financial software firm, held bank meetings on Tuesday in London for a €1bn term loan to back its $3.6bn-equivalent acquisition of D+H, a Canadian competitor, following sponsor Vista Equity Partners’ failed IPO of the UK firm last year.

Peer-to-peer lender China Rapid Finance has launched bookbuilding for its US listing, which could raise $115m, according to a termsheet seen by GlobalCapital Asia.

State Grid Corporation of China, China Huarong Asset Management Co and State Development & Investment Corporation have mandated banks for new bonds, with the latter making its debut in the international market.

Aluminum Corp of China, Peking University Founder Group, Beijing Enterprises Holdings and Singapore’s Oxley Holdings all walked away with new bonds on Wednesday, wrapping up a blockbuster issuance week ahead of Easter.

CCB Life Insurance Company on Wednesday sold a core tier two subordinated bond under China’s Risk-Oriented Solvency System (C-ROSS), becoming only the second issuer to do so. While the offshore market has seen increasing supply from Mainland insurers, the outlook for more core T2 issuance is unclear.

Spanish plasma drug group Grifols wrapped up an all-debt refinancing programme on Wednesday as high yield spreads continued to tighten. But market participants warned that terms can hardly become even more issuer-friendly.

The euro high yield market closed the week before the Easter break in strong form, with bonds from Burger King France and Colfax, the US gas company.

Chinese corporates and FIGs contributed to most of the primary supply in Asia DCM on Tuesday, with China Oil and Gas Group, Yida China Holdings and Citic Securities snapping up a combined $1.45bn.

The slightly softer tone in the Asian markets on Tuesday did not deter issuers from flocking to the debt market, with as many as eight borrowers bagging new bonds. And the momentum continued on Wednesday, with a handful of firms opening their transactions.

Asia’s primary DCM market is busy on Tuesday ahead of the long Easter weekend, with Lianyungang Port Group, China Oil and Gas Group, Yida China Holdings and Golden Wheel Tiandi Holdings Company opening books for their respective dollar bonds.

Shares in Gestamp Automoción and Banca Farmafactoring, which had performed poorly on their first day of trading after their IPOs on Friday April 7, steadied this week, providing relief to equity capital markets bankers anxious to avoid poorly performing deals putting off investors.