Santander

Abbey National returned to the sterling market in senior for the first time since 2010, printing a long-dated deal that was snapped up by investors amid a dearth of senior supply.

Eiffage, the French construction and concessions company, has signed a €1bn five year revolving credit facility with 16 banks. The deal was 25% oversubscribed.

Infra Foch, a new company formed to purchase French car park operator Vinci Park, has mandated banks for a European bond roadshow next week.

Abengoa, the Spanish renewable energy and engineering firm, has allocated a €1.4bn refinancing loan, after issuing a €500m green bond last week.

WHG Treasury, the financing arm of Walsall Housing Group, priced its first bond on Monday, a £250m senior secured issue, of which £75m will be retained. Investors appear not to have been spooked by housing benefit cuts proposed by the UK government at the weekend, as the bond found strong demand and was priced inside guidance.

Yankee heavyweights ING and Santander rounded off a stellar month for US financials issuance with trades that pushed supply beyond $70bn.

Tuesday had been a slippery day in the European corporate bond market, as a fall in equities caused two new issues to find underwhelming demand – a knock-on effect that has not happened for a long time. But by Thursday that was all forgotten. Four deals were launched, three of them triple-B rated and three of them 10 years, and all went well.

Acquisitions announced on Monday by Siemens, Merck and Arkema marked the continuation of a wave of European investment grade acquisitions, with varied outcomes for syndicated loan financing.

Orange, the French telecoms company, showed the potential of the hybrid capital market for financing mergers and acquisitions today, when it raised €3bn towards its €3.4bn acquisition of Jazztel, just eight days after announcing the bid. Orange did not use a bridge loan for the deal.

Vallourec’s bond issue may have gone well today, but for the other corporate issuers in euros and sterling it was a much rougher ride. Accor launched a €150m tap and RCI Banque a £250m sterling three year – but neither managed to tighten pricing from their initial thoughts.

Vallourec, the French oil and gas pipeline maker, issued a €500m 10 year bond on Tuesday after building a book of €3.1bn, despite a jittery day for the equity market.

Monday was a soft day for equities and credit spreads, but BP had little if any hesitation in launching its second large euro bond of the year. The UK oil company’s deal was the eighth big dual tranche deal in euros since BMW set the fashion on August 26.