Société Générale

UK insurer Aviva and French bank BPCE are out with euro denominated tier two deals on Thursday as the FIG market recovers from a slight sell-off following the shock revision of US first quarter GDP figures showing a 2.9% contraction.

Swiss commodity trader Mercuria Energy Trading has roared past its refinancing target to sign a $2.65bn syndicated loan.

A lead manager on Gazprombank’s euro five year benchmark said that the deal will not be delayed, after one newswire reported that the issuer was considering putting it back.

Accor introduced hybrid capital to a new sector of European industry on Monday, becoming the first hotels company to issue a subordinated bond that is treated partly as equity by the rating agencies.

After a busy week last week in the additional tier one market with deals from Société Générale and Coventry Building Society, as well as a large exchange of old-style capital for new from Barclays, issuance of deeply subordinated hybrid capital from European financial institutions has climbed to nearly €30bn year to date.

Société Generale continued the rush to boost capital by tapping the 144A market with an additional tier one deal.

Eurobank on Thursday became the last of Greece’s big four banks to return to the capital markets after the country’s 2010 bailout. While the deal didn’t reach the blowout heights of some of its predecessors, it was received favourably and concluded a strong week of senior issuance that saw Dutch bank ING grab a hefty order book at an aggressive level.

Alstom Auxiliary Components has widened price guidance on the second lien tranche of a €630m-equivalent loan, a week after offering more spread on its first lien term loan 'B' to attract lenders.

The market for European financial institutions' subordinated debt took off on Thursday, defying expectations that the holiday in Europe would put a damper on issuance for the week, as Legal & General, Société Générale and Coventry Building Society came to market with deals.

Noble Group this week priced the latest in a series of corporate hybrids from Asian issuers, bringing a $350m perpetual non call five. The global supply chain company was refinancing its existing perp after the triggering of an early redemption event in April last year. But although the bold move sparked controversy and enraged some investors, the issuer was able to tap into a new group of buyers and get cheaper funding, writes Isabella Zhong.

The reputation of Liberty Global and Discovery Communications played a decisive part in mitigating lenders' concerns about All3Media's credit quality to secure the television production company a £400m-equivalent loan deal, loans bankers said.

The established order is profiting from a sharp rebound in French M&A volumes. Those playing catch-up may not be so lucky, writes David Rothnie.