Search results for

ABN Amro and Société Générale have done away with their dedicated European high-yield desks. Spokespeople at both firms say the desks have been integrated into other areas of their fixed-income businesses and emphasized that their firms were not out of the high-yield business.

Optimism is growing that AMF Bowling Worldwide will emerge from Chapter 11 proceedings shortly, with a confirmation hearing now set for Feb. 1. "AMF is well on the way to emerging from Chapter 11," said Mike Anderson, an AMF spokesman, though he declined to provide a specific date since the confirmation is the last stop in a process that can take up to two months. He confirmed Deutsche Bank is providing a $350 million exit facility, comprising a $50 million revolver, a $100 million term loan "A" and a $200 million term loan "B" to support the exit, but declined to discuss why AMF chose Deutsche Bank.

CIBC World Markets has hired Mickey Spillane as an executive director to work on its high-yield trading desk. He reports to Scott Fahey, managing director and head of high-yield and distressed bank loan sales and trading. Spillane will trade credits in a number of sectors, including media, technology, energy and chemicals.

Morgan Stanley reportedly bought GBP500 million (USD711 million, notional) sterling puts/dollar calls for a customer speculating that the sterling would continue its slide against the dollar, according to options traders in New York. Morgan Stanley officials declined to comment.

Hong Kong Market sentiment for Hysan Development continued to develop this week, as the corporate prepared to launch a debut $200m 10 year bond issue. The Baa1/BBB+ rated property rental corporate has awarded Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley the mandate to joint lead manage the Eurodollar bond issue. Pricing talk for the transaction is 185bp over US Treasuries.

Australia UBS Warburg followed its strong start to the year - the blockbuster Westfield America placement - with another deal on Friday last week. The bank arranged the sale of a block of Normandy Mining, when AngloGold sold a 7% stake in Normandy following its failure to acquire the company.

Shares in outdoor advertising company MediaNation slumped more than 15.3% at the close of their first day's trading on the Growth Enterprise Market in Hong Kong yesterday (Thursday). The shares finished at HK$2.20, compared with the issue price of HK$2.60 per share, which was at the bottom end of a wide range on a scaled down deal. Deutsche Bank was lead manager for the first time on a Hong Kong IPO. Although the deal was not the success the bank might have hoped for, Deutsche managed to raise HK$445.6m before fees for MediaNation.

National Power Corp (Napocor) of the Philippines began the roadshow for its controversial $500m seven year secured bond issue yesterday (Thursday). Bear Stearns, in a rare top line appearance in the Asian primary debt market, is the bookrunner for the 144A registered issue, which is to be launched by Napocor International Finance Trust. JP Morgan is joint lead. The deal has a sovereign guarantee and is the first Asian bond to carry political risk insurance (PRI). As a result, the transaction has secured a Baa3/BBB- rating versus Napocor's sovereign ceiling rating of Ba1/BB+.

Orient Corp (Orico), the Japanese finance company which has become the benchmark Japanese ABS issuer in the Euromarket, this week launched a Euroyen securitisation that reached a different group of investors. The ¥21.8bn auto loan securitisation, lead managed by Daiwa Securities SMBC Europe, continued the theme of diversification in Orico's international ABS issuance that began with the issuer's first card loan securitisation in December.

Renault was a casualty of poor Japanese investor sentiment this week, when the French auto manufacturer was forced to postpone its second Samurai bond issue. Joint lead managers Daiwa SMBC and Merrill Lynch were due to launch the ¥35bn five year deal on Wednesday, but the collapse into bankruptcy of Enron and Kmart has severely affected Japanese investors' appetite for offshore corporate paper.

The notoriously unpredictable Taiwan stock market surged this week as positive political news sent retail investors scurrying to place orders. The infamous freewheeling nature of the local bourse, driven as it is by private buyers with little idea of actual or relative value, helped Morgan Stanley close a $175m convertible bond for Siliconware Precision Industries on Monday evening, New York time. The volatile markets almost derailed a $240m GDR issue for Realtek, which was finally priced yesterday (Thursday) at a 12.12% discount, less than initially expected considering the rapid run-up in the stock since last Friday (January 18).

Woolworths, the Australian supermarket chain, which is unrelated to corporates with the same name in the US and the UK, is due to price a A$200m five year bond issue today (Friday), marking the first straight corporate bond of the year from Australia. The borrower launched its transaction yesterday (Thursday) with a coupon of 6.25%. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and National Australia Bank (NAB) were joint lead managers for the issue. ANZ Investment Bank and Westpac Institutional Bank participated as co-managers.