Nordics

The busy equity block trade action, widely predicted by ECM bankers when the US presidential election produced a bounce in share prices, has continued this week with a string of sales totalling over $1.5bn.

Oslo Bors is to change the last trading day of its equity derivative contracts to the third Friday of the month, as the exchange looks to line up with other markets.

One of the last two substantial European IPOs of 2016 looks set to be completed on Friday, when RussNeft, one of Russia’s 10 largest oil companies, floats in Moscow for at least $495m.

SP Mortgage Bank got a strong response this week for its first covered bond, partly due to its defensive five year maturity, while Caffil did well to issue a 15 year deal despite soaring volatility.

Shares in Petroleum Geo-Services, the Norwegian oilfield surveyor, closed 10% higher on Wednesday after the company completed a Nkr1.9bn ($225m) capital increase overnight, to strengthen its balance sheet.

Shares in Dometic Group, the Swedish company that makes fridges and freezers for boats and camper vans, fell 3.6% on Tuesday morning after EQT has sold the last of its shares in the company, through an accelerated bookbuild that was covered in half an hour.

Arcus, the Norwegian distiller owned by private equity group Ratos, opened the books for its Nkr1.5bn ($188m) Oslo initial public offering on Monday and was covered at its maximum size by the afternoon.

Nordea has appointed its co-head of markets equities Martin Persson head of wholesale banking, effective from Monday

Three corporate issuers pushed deals into a widening primary market on Wednesday with mixed results, as rates volatility kept new issue premiums elevated for borrowers.

The bounce in international equities since the election of Donald Trump as US president was widely expected by market participants to lead to a round of block trades as sellers looked to take advantage of the favourable conditions.

Swedish speciality chemicals group Perstorp priced €1bn-equivalent of high yield bonds on Tuesday, grabbing the attention of investors with triple-C paper against an uncertain backdrop.

Kommuninvest’s senior investor relations manager is expanding his role and will now head the Swedish agency’s sustainability programme.