North America

Morgan Stanley Investment Management makes two SRI hires — Citi appoints Aby for CEEMEA markets — Callaghan joins HSBC for UK M&A

German meal kit delivery company HelloFresh has issued a €175m debut convertible bond to fund growth opportunities after reporting stellar first quarter results, as more consumers dine at home because of the restrictions imposed to help combat the Covid-19 pandemic in its key markets.

Citigroup is determined to emerge as a winner from the Covid-19 crisis and conquer the summit of global investment banking, in the face of any pull to concentrate more on home markets, writes David Rothnie.

Kingsoft Cloud Holdings is on the road with its up to $450m Nasdaq IPO. Thanks to strong pre-launch demand, it is running a quick three-day bookbuild, according to a source close to the deal.

The economic devastation has made an absolute mockery of predicting corporate earnings and therefore, equity valuation. Companies have given up on providing forward guidance leaving equity investors in the strange position of having to pick stocks without the earnings estimates that they have come to depend upon. Undoubtedly, this makes their work harder but it will also mean they must add to their repertoire of techniques for analysing companies. Many will flounder but a few are bound to shine.

HSBC Canada is set to become the third Canadian bank to issue a dollar covered bond this year, mandating leads for a three year transaction on Tuesday. Given a strong secondary market performance, HSBC Canada should be able to price its deal a lot tighter than its predecessors.

Kingsoft Cloud Holdings is looking to raise $450m from its Nasdaq IPO, finalising the listing terms on Monday.

Telecoms giant América Móvil on Monday became the first private sector non-financial company from Latin America to issue a bond since the coronavirus pandemic battered emerging market bond markets in March. But the company’s unique appeal to non-EM buyers means few conclusions can be drawn about appetite for genuine Lat Am companies.

Prospects are rising of a return to normal merger and acquisition activity, despite the continued grip of the Covid-19 pandemic. Telefónica, the Spanish telecoms group, has confirmed it is in talks about combining its UK mobile business O2 with Virgin Media, the quad play telecoms firm owned by Liberty Global.

Boeing attracted a staggering $70bn of demand as it raised $25bn in the dollar bond market on Thursday, a sum that could fulfil all its funding needs this year.

The European Investment Bank and the Region of Madrid stood out in the public sector bond market this week, with the former achieving its biggest ever order book for a euro benchmark.

The US convertible bond market is showing little sign of slowing down, after another wave of new issues this week, including a jumbo $2.3bn bond from Southwest Airlines. The boom will continue, sources said, as companies attempt to bring in capital to offset a loss in revenue because of Covid-19.