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It was no surprise to many market participants that Friday saw no new issuance in the corporate bond market after the busiest week of 2018. The conundrum to be solved now though is how the jumbo issuance will affect conditions in potentially the final full week before Easter.

The going was heavy for dollar borrowers as investors demanded extra concessions amid poor performance as CVS Healthcare’s trade from the previous week appeared to re-price the market.

Corporate bond issuers who sold their deals earlier the week found execution much easier than those who came later in the week. Strong order books and single digit new issue premiums gave way to premiums of as much as 20bp and one deal having to be downsized.

Sanofi, the French pharmaceutical company, this week priced the largest European corporate bond deal of 2018 — an €8bn six-tranche deal. The company used only European banks as global co-ordinators for the sale, as the euro market proved that it is a viable market for jumbo financings.

The day after a jumbo corporate bond issue is often a quiet one for new issuance as investors digest their allocations and assess the impact on secondary spreads. But after Sanofi's €8bn offering on Wednesday, Thursday was another bumper day.

Swiss luxury goods company Richemont made its debut in the corporate bond market on Thursday with a jumbo triple tranche offering. And Goldman Sachs leapt in the league tables by solely running the €3.75bn deal.

Vonovia, the German housing company, issued €2.1bn of bonds on Thursday to finance its €5.2bn acquisition of Austrian peer Buwog, which was announced in December.

Emirates Airlines has set the yield for its benchmark sukuk at a level representing a negative new issue premium, according to a banker on the deal.

Sanofi, the French pharmaceutical company, priced on Wednesday the largest corporate bond deal so far in 2018, an €8bn six-tranche deal. The company regularly uses a multi-tranche approach to the market, but this was its largest deal so far in any currency.

Saudi property developer Dar Al Arkan has tightened price guidance for its sukuk, with books for the deal hitting $1.1bn.

Dubai-based developer Majid Al Futtaim printed its third hybrid bond on Tuesday, a $400m perpetual non-call eight year. In the absence of a strong Asian bid, real money European investors anchored the book.

January and February, particularly the latter, were quiet months for corporate bond new issuance in Europe. However, March is lining up to be the busiest month of 2018 so far in both investment grade and high yield markets, and that is starting to worry investors.