Nordics

Rating: Baa3/BBB

Finnish technology company Nokia is set to become the first European company to issue a euro high yield bond for four weeks. Meanwhile, UK food producer Bakkavor will repay all its notes.

The Swedish National Debt Office (SNDO) promoted non-preferred debt as a way for Swedish banks to meet the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) on Thursday, establishing a favourable method for calculating the requirement and a manageable timeline for its implementation.

Bravissima Holding, an investment vehicle controlled by Bain Capital, has hired Deutsche Bank and Nordea to sell a 12.1% stake in Bravida, the Swedish heating, plumbing and electrical installation company, through an accelerated bookbuild launched after the market close on Wednesday.

RenoNorden, the Norwegian waste management company, has finished its Nkr350m (€39m) rights issue to prevent it breaking its debt covenants after losses in 2016.

Nordic Capital has completed the first selldown of shares in Resurs Holding, the Swedish retail finance company, since its IPO in April 2016.

Shares in Eltel, the Swedish intranet company, jumped 14% on Tuesday after it announced its 2016 results, the sale of non-core assets, the revision of its debt covenants, and a rights issue to finance its restructuring and return to profitability.

Investors piled into a €1bn dual tranche transaction from telecoms company Ericsson on Monday even after the issuer dragged pricing in by around 35bp, in an execution that bankers say highlights how tough it has become for syndicates to derive fair value.

Investors snapped up a tightly priced tier two from Norway’s DNB Bank on Monday, spying a rare chance to pick up good returns from a Scandinavian credit.

Svenska Handelsbanken built a solid order book for a tightly priced senior bond on Monday, suggesting there is still appetite for the asset class as spreads tighter.

GlobalCapital revealed the winners of its Syndicated Loan, Leveraged Finance and Private Placement Awards 2016 at its 14th Annual Loans Dinner on Wednesday. A dozen borrowers — corporate, bank and sovereign — from all over the EMEA region attended the dinner of 250 people at the Guildhall in London. The awards were as ever based on a poll of loan market participants, conducted at the end of 2016. As such, they are the only awards that recognise achievement in the EMEA loan market based on the opinion of the market. This year we added two high profile new awards: the Lifetime Achievement Award and Most Impressive Growing Force in the Loan Market. Participants at the dinner supported the Loan Syndicate Managers’ Forum’s chosen charity, Make Sense of It, which supports research into, and sufferers from, multiple sclerosis. GlobalCapital congratulates all the winners and nominees.

Buoyant secondary markets are continuing to provide ideal conditions for equity sellers to trade blocks. This week has already brought notable sales in France, Finland, Sweden and Russia.