North America

Mexican lender Banorte and Colombia’s second largest telecoms company began investor calls on Monday as Latin American borrowers look for funding in the wake of a rally that reawakened issuer interest in bond markets.

Lu Zhengyao will remain chairman of Chinese chain Luckin Coffee after a vote to remove him went in his favour.

Barclays appoints levfin and sponsors leaders — Créd Ag gives Goldfischer UK role — BTIG hires Huggins

Takeda Pharmaceutical was the standout issuer as US high grade corporate bond issuance ground to a halt this week, ahead of the July 4 holiday.

Exchangeable bonds are emerging as a key coronavirus tool for corporates — one they can use to monetise stakes in companies they own without having to concede large discounts by selling shares.

US companies sold $19bn of new convertible bonds in June as the rush to tap the market for financing during the Covid-19 global pandemic continued, with little sign of slowing down.

Sir Ronald Cohen, one of the UK’s foremost private equity entrepreneurs, believes the Covid-19 crisis is an opportunity to transform western capitalism into a socially responsible enterprise that values a company’s impact on society as much as its profits. Cohen talks to GlobalCapital about the tremendous challenges facing the global economy, and how it can be transformed for the better.

Equity issuance has surged during the Covid-19 pandemic in both Europe and the US, and one of the sectors that has printed the most stock in the first half of the year is the biopharmaceuticals industry. In the rush for healthcare innovation, banks say they are busy lining up more deals for the second half.

Mexican real estate investment trust (Reit) Fibra Uno will monitor markets as it continues to look for liability management opportunities after pulling a proposed Reg S-only trade last week, the company’s capital markets vice-president has told GlobalCapital.

DirectBooks, which plans to bring a new issuance platform for bond markets, has not ruled out the possibility of a partnership with other providers.

The European equity capital markets are bucking wider equity market fears over a second wave of coronavirus infections in the US and bankers hope sentiment will hold even if global equity indices become more volatile.

German biotechnology company BioNTech has raised $225m via a private placement led by Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek, amid growing investor appetite for biotech investments due to the Covid-19 pandemic.