The Netherlands

The debut covered bond of BNP Paribas Fortis and the first in four years from SNS Bank were priced on Monday with virtually no new issue concession to healthy levels of subscription.

Unilever’s attempt to raise prices on goods it sells to UK supermarkets would not have covered all of its costs from the recent depreciation of sterling, a Unilever executive has told GlobalCapital.

Dutch asset manager NN Investment Partners has hired a head for its alternative credit boutique to oversee €14bn of assets, as the firm also plans to increase its focus on private debt.

The Dutch lender has mandated leads for an ultra-long soft bullet covered bond which will follow a roadshow due to begin next week.

The second block trade in Refresco Gerber, the Dutch soft drinks bottler, since its €563m IPO in March 2015, came on Wednesday night.

Rabobank

Dutch insurer and asset manager NN Group offered to buy local rival Delta Lloyd for €2.4bn on Wednesday, triggering a rally in the latter’s bond and equity values and creating an expectation for consolidation within the country’s insurance sector.

UK waste management company Shanks has agreed a €600m facility for its €482m acquisition of Dutch competitor Van Gansewinkel Group.

Shares in Takeaway.com, the Dutch online fast food delivery company, closed 6.5% above their IPO price on Friday, after the company completed its €328m IPO on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange.

SNS Bank will change its name to de Volksbank from January next year, leading to speculation that it could return to the covered bond market, though possibly not with the same programme.

A pair of public sector borrowers were able to sell tightly priced euro deals on Tuesday, with another two trades likely to follow on Wednesday.

A French agency is set to bring a euro benchmark in the shortest tenor seen since the end of the summer, while a Dutch agency is about to sell its longest dated syndication ever in the currency.