UniCredit

The European Stability Mechanism has chosen a five year tenor to kick off its funding for the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, a French public sector agency is out with its debut sustainable benchmark bond.

Banco BPM extended the run of recent Italian bank bond supply this week, launching a preferred senior bond. The deal was launched at 200bp over mid-swaps and did not offer a new issue premium to investors, according to a banker on the deal.

German home improvement and garden supplies chain Hornbach issued €250m of senior unsecured notes on Thursday, for a coupon of just 3.25%. While the retail sector in general makes investors wary and Germany is lurching towards recession, investors showed confidence in the home improvement market.

Credito Emiliano continued an Italian bank bond spree on Friday, choosing a quiet day to market a debut non-preferred senior bond. The deal comes one day after Banca del Mezzogiorno priced a social bond.

E.On and Engie pushed ahead with tightly priced deals on Thursday, easing concerns from earlier in the week that ZF Freidrichshafen’s widely priced bonds would create a new level for issuance.

Mann+Hummel, a veteran borrower in the Schuldschein market, struggled to place a Schuldschein, according to market sources, with participants citing ZF Friedrichshafen’s blockbuster transaction as well as the market’s over-indulgence in the auto sector this year as chief reasons.

BPCE and Banca Farmafactoring launched senior deals this week, with both issuers enjoying healthy receptions to their offerings. BPCE’s non-preferred mandate drew over €2.75bn of orders and the Italian issuer saw its preferred bond attract €850m at the spread level.

Russian potash producer Uralkali hit the market on Tuesday, tightening pricing on a $500m bond issue, the borrower's first international deal since 2013. DCM bankers are confident Russian issuance will continue to fill the market throughout the fourth quarter, as Norilsk Nickel began a roadshow.

Three issuers spanning the CEEMEA region released initial guidance for dollar deals on Tuesday morning in London — one each from Russia, Abu Dhabi and Togo. All three bonds are expected to be printed later on Tuesday.

UBI Banca launched a €500m non-preferred senior bond this week, supported by orders of €1.4bn at peak, but it had to pay a new issue premium, according to a FIG banker.

SoftwareOne Holding, the KKR-backed IT services company, is making good progress on its IPO on the SIX Swiss Exchange, despite market sentiment being hit by the poor aftermarket performance of TeamViewer, the German software company that listed in Frankfurt last month.

The buyout bonds for Merlin Entertainments and Kantar, backed by Blackstone and Bain, will set new standards for European issuers. If the investors strike down the "net short" clauses — as they did in an earlier Inmarsat deal — the sponsors may give up on the controversial strategy to battle hedge funds with large CDS positions.