UniCredit

German ball bearing producer Schaeffler has set price guidance on its €1.8bn-equivalent term loan ‘B’.

The Swiss-headquartered oil trader Vitol has signed $7.5bn of revolving credit facilities to refinance $7bn of loans signed in October 2013 and for general corporate purposes. The syndication was launched at $5.5bn and brought in some $8bn of orders.

German ball bearing producer Schaeffler has launched a €1.8bn-equivalent six year term loan ‘B’ to refinance debt raised earlier this year.

Eiffage, the French construction and concessions company, has signed a €1bn five year revolving credit facility with 16 banks. The deal was 25% oversubscribed.

Four issuers launched covered bonds from Germany, Sweden, Norway and Austria this week. The transactions were all well subscribed and priced tightly but the greatest degree of price tension was seen in deals that are expected to be eligible for the European Central Bank’s purchase programme.

Adidas, the German sportswear maker, issued its first bond for five years on Wednesday. The company’s rarity, high perceived credit quality of around the single-A level and very strong brand name should have made this a triumphant deal, but in the treacherous conditions of this week it was a mess.

Adidas, the German sportswear maker, issued its first bond for five years on Wednesday. The company’s rarity, high perceived credit quality of around the single-A level and very strong brand name should have made this a triumphant deal – but in the treacherous conditions of this week it was a mess.

Exor, a principal holding company of the Agnelli family, which founded Fiat, on Wednesday issued its first bond since 2007. Despite shaky market conditions, the 10 year bond attracted ample demand, helped by the fact that it offered about 150bp of spread — not available every day on investment grade paper.

Adidas, the German sportswear maker, issued its first bond for five years today, with a €1bn seven and 12 year offering. Adidas is a high quality name, but 12 years is an unusually long maturity for an unrated issuer, and with financial markets jittery again today, the deal may not have whizzed off the books as much as it might have in a more bullish atmosphere. Bankers said it widened sharply in the aftermarket.

Norma Group, the German engineering company specialising in pipe fixings and connectors, has agreed a €100m term loan and €50m revolving credit facility. It will use the money to pay back the rest of its bank loans signed in 2011, which were due in 2016.

Ever the optimists, delegates at the Euromoney Covered Bond Congress in Vienna this week attempted to cheer themselves up by highlighting opportunities in new jurisdictions such as Turkey and Singapore and possibly even deals backed by SME or infrastructure loan collateral.

Acquisitions announced on Monday by Siemens, Merck and Arkema marked the continuation of a wave of European investment grade acquisitions, with varied outcomes for syndicated loan financing.