Switzerland

Swiss franc bond bankers expressed concerns this week that the Swiss National Bank will not be able to halt the rising value of the franc in the face of political uncertainty resulting from the result of the UK's referendum on European Union membership.

The IPO of Investis Group, the Swiss residential property company, is nearly complete after the pricing was revised on Tuesday to Sfr50-Sfr55, the lower end of the initial Sfr49-Sfr68 range.

The two IPOs live in the European market are both progressing steadily, despite the shock of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union, which has sent share prices whizzing in all directions.

A $12.7bn Asia-focused loan for China National Chemical Corp’s acquisition of Swiss firm Syngenta is expected to enter the second phase of syndication as early as next week.

Investis Group, the Swiss residential property company, opened books for its IPO at lunchtime on Monday, hoping to raise Sfr150m to Sfr183m.

LafargeHolcim, the French-Swiss cement group, found ample demand in the European bond market on Wednesday for a tap issue, showing how keen appetite remains, despite the nearness of the UK’s referendum on leaving the European Union next week.

Dätwyler, the Swiss electronics company, has signed £497m of loan facilities backing its Sfr1bn (£700m) acquisition of Premier Farnell, which makes the Raspberry Pi mini-computer.

Cott Corp, the US-Canadian drinks maker, on Thursday sold a €450m bond to support its buyout of Eden Springs of Switzerland.

Investis Group, the Swiss residential property company, is preparing to raise at least Sfr150m ($156m) through an IPO on the SIX Swiss Exchange.

The successful distribution of a jumbo loan for ChemChina’s acquisition of Syngenta shows that Chinese banks have learned quickly from past mistakes. And as the trend of Chinese companies snapping up prized assets overseas intensifies, they will only get better at arranging large, complex deals.

Citigroup has hired an equity capital markets banker from Deutsche Bank to help its business in the German-speaking region.

Credit Suisse launched its second opco level euro senior unsecured deal of the year on Tuesday, and appeared to suffer little ill effect from a Fitch downgrade last week.