UniCredit

Ista, the German energy company, has signed a €1.85bn sustainability-linked loan, as European corporates considering the ESG-linked structure nears pre-crisis levels.

National champions have outpaced their smaller peers in the rally in bank bond spreads over recent months. Investors say individual valuations in the middle tier of the sector could pick up, but that the chances of consolidation may first have to improve.

German drug packaging manufacturer Gerresheimer launched a Schuldschein on Tuesday, according to market sources, ahead of €190m of debt maturing this November.

Spanish telecommunications infrastructure company Cellnex has finished its €4bn rights issue to fund further M&A opportunities, with an extremely high oversubscription.

Local lenders in central and eastern Europe have stepped up for local clients during the coronavirus pandemic. Structural factors will help them fortify their position against international banks should infections rise again.

UniCredit returned to profit in the second quarter with a larger pool of excess capital to reward shareholders from next year, if the European Central Bank gives its permission.

Polish oil refiner and petrol retailer PKN Orlen has raised a revolving credit facility. The Polish corporate is in the process of acquiring two fellow Polish energy corporates, as bankers predicted an uptick in M&A activity.

The Loan Market Association is not looking at producing documentation for social revolving credit facilities, adding to the likelihood that the first-of-its-kind Covid-19 facility for Suez last week will remain a rarity in the market.

Suez, the French utility, signed what it claims to be the first ever social revolving credit facility, using elements of green and sustainability-linked financing to create a new Covid-19 era structure to mitigate some of the financial fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

Erste Abwicklungsanstalt (EAA) is considering a return to the euro market in the fourth quarter to complete its funding programme.

Northvolt, the Swedish battery maker, has signed a $1.6bn credit facility. A range of lenders — from commercial to governmental — piled into the deal, which will effectively create a new industry in Europe.

Phoenix Pharmahandel, the German pharmaceutical company, issued a five year euro-denominated bond on Wednesday, as pharma companies across the credit spectrum continue to hold investors’ attention.