Switzerland

The treasury team at BASF, the German chemicals producer, kept up a high level of capital markets activity on Tuesday as it targeted a debut transaction in the Eurodollar market.

Syndication of the acquisition financing loans for Lonza and Sibanye Gold is expected to begin soon, as loans bankers begin 2017 in an optimistic mood.

The Swiss market shed roughly Sfr3bn ($2.93bn) of foreign issuance this year from last year. Expensive basis swaps and cheap funding for investment grade borrowers in euros and dollars drew foreign issuers away. But, if global rates rise next year, the foreign borrowers will return, Swiss bankers say.

Another piece of next year’s equity capital markets issuance puzzle was turned over today, when Lonza, the Swiss pharmaceutical and chemical company, announced a Sfr3.3bn rights issue to pay for the acquisition of Capsugel from KKR.

Swiss pharmaceutical and biotech ingredients supplier Lonza has secured $5.5bn in funds from Bank of America Merrill Lynch and UBS for the acquisition of US dosage form maker Capsugel, in a financing package that includes a variety of debt and equity products.

Bats Europe is to add several benchmark indices spanning French, German, Italian and Swiss markets and expects these to support derivatives products in the future.

Pfandbriefbank Schweizerischer Hypothekarinstitute tapped two Swiss covered bonds on Tuesday, in what was likely the final trades of the year. The shorter 10 year Pfandbrief tenor offered a 0.29% yield, an early Christmas present to investors forced far along the curve throughout the year.

Glencore launched a cash tender offer on Thursday, hoping to buy back $1bn of dollar bonds, after raising $4.7bn from asset sales in the past few weeks.

When a company announces that it is increasing the amount paid out to shareholders, it is not typically greeted with enthusiasm by credit investors. But Glencore is no ordinary company in the credit default swap world, and its announcement on Thursday wasn’t a standard change in financial policy.

Commodity trader Gunvor increased its European revolving credit facility by around 50% to meet oversubscribed commitments, having also grown its $725m working capital loan after strong demand.

Shares in Meyer Burger Technology, the Swiss solar panel maker, plunged 13% on Tuesday after it announced a recapitalisation programme involving a rights issue, an adjustment of the terms of the Sfr100m convertible bond it issued in September 2014, and the extension of a loan secured on one of its properties.

Tidjane Thiam seems to have lost his hero status with investors. Credit Suisse’s share price leapt 7.7% on the day in March 2015 when he was named CEO, but most of the times Thiam has presented the bank’s results since taking the helm 16 months ago, the market has shuddered. On Thursday, its shares fell 6% by the afternoon, even though the bank beat expectations and pleased analysts.