UBS

Prabhat Dairy limped over the finish line with its IPO, with the Indian producer of milk and dairy products pricing the deal at the bottom of the range after being forced to extend bookbuilding and drastically slashing price guidance.

After the first week of proper business in European equity capital markets since the August shutdown, the early signs are good: investors are open to buying new deals.

Rarity value ensured strong demand for Bank of Nova Scotia’s return to the Swiss franc market in a week that also saw local insurer Helvetia continue its series of successful hybrid placements.

Covered bonds proved their worth this week as, despite difficult market conditions, 10 borrowers were able to collectively raise more than €8bn at levels that looked attractive compared to senior unsecured financials.

IPO bankers are treading cautiously around two of the post-summer season’s most highly anticipated trades in Hong Kong, after a global sell-off in stocks sent investors packing and clouded the outlook on shares sales with China links.

Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel opened the euro tier two market for a long list of names, as bankers sit on a pipeline that some say contains more than 20 transactions.

Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan is selling a Dkr2.5bn (€335m) block of shares in ISS, the Danish cleaning and facility services company, on Wednesday night, in the first accelerated bookbuild of European shares so far this week.

Cigarette maker Philip Morris flagged off pre-deal investor education for an up to Rph26.70tr ($1.92bn) follow-on transaction in its Indonesian subsidiary HM Sampoerna on September 2, with the process set to run for two weeks.

Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel has burst back into the market shortly after a summer blackout, raising €600m with a spree of floating rate medium term notes.

Financing for three rival bids to acquire Tesco’s South Korean asset Homeplus feature a senior-junior split, according to market sources. One of the contenders is also said to have secured a letter of commitment from a local pension fund, considered unusual as such funds usually throw their weight behind bidders once they have emerged as the winner.

International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI) provided a breath of fresh air to Asia’s bond market with its $450m perpetual deal. The lack of issuance this year from Philippine borrowers worked in the company’s favour, but SMC Global Power Holdings Corp’s quick follow-up had to endure a turn of sentiment in the market.

With the restructuring behind it, UBS is in calm waters while many of its rivals are still deciding whether to sink or swim in investment banking.