Nordics

The number of new covered bond issuers grew to five this year after Standard and Poor’s assigned a preliminary AAA rating to the covered bond programme of The Mortgage Society of Finland.

Finnish property investment firm Sponda has completed its €221m rights offering, which it first announced in late February and which will be used to partially repay a bridge loan.

Norske Skogindustrier, the Norwegian manufacturer of paper for publication, announced on Thursday that GSO Capital and Cyrus Capital would provide new securitization and equity financing to save the company.

Rabobank has announced the sale of a €1bn portfolio of mortgages in a move that has pre-positioned the bank for tougher Basel IV regulations. By the time the rules are in force in Europe though, they may look different, especially for countries that are heavy users of covered bonds.

Songa Offshore, the Norwegian oil drilling company, has made a strong start to its attempt to raise $125m of new money with a convertible bond, as part of a distressed debt restructuring.

Norske Skog, the Norwegian producer of publishing paper, has told GlobalCapital that its plan to ensure its long term funding is going ahead, although Moody’s has warned of a default looming.

Danske Bank’s €1bn five year senior transaction was more than four times subscribed on Wednesday, as the Danish borrower took advantage of a strong market open to launch the day’s only FIG deal in the European primary market.

Lehto Group, the Finnish construction and real estate firm, said on Tuesday that it intended to float in Helsinki, in a deal that would consist primarily of new shares.

Following approval of its demerger plan, Nordea has managed to get the consent of bondholders to transfer the assets and liabilities affecting 31 of its Finnish covered bonds to a new entity with a new guarantee. However, it does not yet have investors’ consent on six remaining deals.

Humana AB, the Swedish company that provides care for the elderly, disabled and mentally ill, traded up 19% on its Stockholm debut on Tuesday, but fell back on Wednesday.

Humana AB, the Swedish company that provides care for the elderly, disabled and mentally ill, is set to begin trading on Nasdaq Stockholm on Tuesday morning, after completing a successful IPO of about Skr832m ($100m).

Lundin Petroleum, the Swedish oil and gas exploration company, has increased the size of its reserve-based bank facility and signed a short-term credit facility agreement to protect itself from further oil price volatility.