3 February 2012
Despite widespread predictions of a steady increase in margins this year, the investment grade loan market is stubbornly resisting calls to price deals higher. read more »
03 February 2012
European banks are digging in to push up the pricing on Russian loans by 50bp-100bp, said market participants this week. But some warned that this will lead to a delay in deals being signed.
Bank meetings will be held next week to market the leveraged loans backing Apax’s buy-out of Orange Switzerland and Cinven’s takeover of CPA Global. But market participants said bookrunners were looking for a quick turnaround, having already sounded out numerous lenders.
French building materials firm Lafarge is amending its €1.65bn revolving credit facility, extending the maturity by two years to 2015 and increasing the out-of-the-box margin to 200bp.
Africa has been keeping emerging market loans desks busy as deal flow remains lethargic in the Middle East and eastern Europe.
German cable firm Kabel Deutschland (KDG) has sent out a notice of prepayment to lenders after easily exceeding its original target of extending €500m of term loans ‘A1’, ‘A2’ and ‘C1’. The company is understood to be ready to accept extensions from all those lenders who consented, which market participants said represented more than €700m.
US investors are leading demand for the €1bn-equivalent term loan ‘C’ being syndicated to funds as part of German ball bearings manufacturer Schaeffler’s €10bn bond and loan refinancing.
Dollar funding premiums that were introduced to the syndicated loans market last year to make up for European banks’ struggles to access dollar financing are set to become commonplace over the first few months of 2012.
A bank meeting on Thursday morning to discuss the €700m loan backing DS Smith’s takeover of SCA Packaging was well attended, according to a market participant working on the deal.
The shine has come off the offshore renminbi market. Funding costs are rising, bond investors are posturing and some analysts now think that renminbi deposits in Hong Kong will fall this year, after an almost unbroken growth streak for the past two years. That is bad news for loans bankers.
The return of underwriting
read now »
Bookrunners of all global syndicated loans — 2012 (February 2, 2012)
Bail takes Baird’s bait for new debt advisory position
The European Investment Grade Syndicated Loans Roundtable
Read now »
Update your account information to receive the latest News Alerts
How to read EuroWeek with your PDA wherever you are.
Your team can get access to EuroWeek – find out how.
What's the gossip?