Deals
M&A, Refis Offer Late Boost for Slow Euro Corporate Debt Sales
- Issuance of high-grade company debt down 40% year-on-year
- Firms may bring forward funding plans to beat rate hikes
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European firms seeking to get ahead of painful interest rate rises should mean a lackluster year for euro corporate debt deals ends on a brighter note.
Companies have largely sat out an active 2021 for Europe’s syndicated debt market, pricing just under 200 billion euros ($232 billion) of euro high-grade debt versus a hefty 330 billion euros by the same stage of 2020. Wider sales including from financial firms trail last year’s pace by 3.5%, compared with the 40% drop in corporate issuance.