Natixis

Moody’s has downgraded the corporate rating of Spie, the French engineering and communications services firm, from B1 to B2 in response to a €2bn refinancing exercise.

Gunvor International and Gunvor SA, subsidiaries of Gunvor Group, have signed a $1bn revolving credit facility with a syndicate of 25 banks, down from 38 on its $1.5bn loan a year ago.

Constellium, the Paris-headquartered aluminium producer, launched a €535m-equivalent bond on Friday December 5, to back its plans to buy US drinks can sheet manufacturer Wise.

Spie, the French engineering and communications firm, gave price guidance for its €911m loan at a London bank meeting on Monday.

Grupo Actividades de Construcción y Servicios (ACS) of Spain is in talks with a group of banks to refinance €2.2bn of debt, and plans to complete the deal in January 2015.

Imerys, the French industrial minerals supplier, tapped its 2.5% November 2020 bond for €100m ($124.34) and issued a new €500m 10 year on Wednesday.

Imerys, the French industrial minerals supplier, has mandated six banks for a tap of its 2.5% November 2020 bond and a new 10 year benchmark issue.

French supermarket group Groupe Casino priced a €650m ($514.37m) 10.2 year bond on Tuesday, its third issue of the year. But its credit spreads have widened a little since its last deal on July 30.

Publicis, the French advertising and PR firm, has mandated BNP Paribas and Citi to arrange a roadshow on Friday for a possible euro bond. The proceeds will be used as part of the funding for Publicis’s $3.7bn all cash acquisition of US company Sapient, announced on November 3.

Spie, the French engineering and communications firm, gave price guidance for its €911m loan at a London bank meeting on Monday.

Supportive secondary markets and tightening credit indices have deceived issuers of senior and covered bonds in the FIG market, causing five to pull the plug on new transactions over the span of five trading days. That left market participants wondering if the year is over for FIG issuance, as investors happy with returns on the year have avoided taking on further risk — despite issuers offering spreads that have previously led to successful deals, writes Nathan Collins.

After months of spread tightening and an unremitting stream of successful deals, the positive mood in the primary covered bond market finally broke this week. Amid a weakening secondary market, OP Mortgage Bank only just managed to get a deal away and AIB Mortgage Bank became the only covered bond issuer to postpone a deal this year.