UK

Phoenix Group Holdings, the UK life insurer, has stuck a deal to acquire ReAssure, the UK closed book life insurance division of Swiss Re, for £3.2bn in cash and shares.

Participants in the financial institutions bond market have displayed calm in the run-up to the UK general election next week. A lingering credit premium for the country’s banks, to cover for risks related to Brexit and the economy, has left investors feeling comfortable about any likely outcome of the vote.

Certain US private placement (PP) investors are beginning to fear a turn in the famously prudent market, towards a world with looser financial covenants. Let us hope this remains a fear and does not become reality.

While capital markets professionals might be preparing to pop champagne corks in the expectation of a Conservative Party victory in the UK’s general election on December 12, they should remember that the government’s key policy is appalling for the UK.

The Pebble Group closed 17% higher on Thursday after the UK promotional products company priced its £135.4m IPO on the London Stock Exchange after lowering the offer price to accommodate investor feedback.

Equity capital markets professionals are hoping that the Conservative Party emerges victorious from the UK general election on December 12, in the hope that issuance conditions will return to normal after a year of uncertainty. However, the possibility of modest market gains are outweighed by predictions of dire consequences should the Labour Party win.

High grade corporate bond bankers have warned of near-pandemonium in the UK market if the Conservative Party fails to form a government after the general election on December 12. They fear rocketing spreads and constricted market access during the busy January issuance window.

The co-founders of Boohoo Group, the UK online fashion retailer, have offloaded £142.5m of stock.

Peter Lammer and Jan Hruska, the co-founders of UK cybersecurity company Sophos Group, have sold the last of their stock in the company before it is due to be acquired by US private equity fund Thoma Bravo next year.

US private placement investors, who have long held firm on covenant structures, have started to notice early signs that their ranks may be breaking, and that 2020 may be a year when weaker covenant packages become more commonplace. But arrangers have resolutely dismissed this claim.

Investors in the financial institutions bond market have not had much chance to invest in UK credit this year, especially in the euro market in light of the political uncertainty in the country. Much of the supply next year will depend on the UK general election results next week.

A director working on debt advisory and structuring at Barclays is leaving the bank to take up a new job on the buy-side.