For the first time on record, Swedish borrowers could end the year above their Nordic high yield counterparts, according to Moody’s data.
Primary high yield bond sales in the Nordic region — comprising Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland — are expected to reach a value of around €7bn in 2016. This would leave the tally some 30% behind last year’s figures but in line with the wider European market.
So far, Swedish corporates have already surpassed the €1bn of high yield bonds originated by Norwegian companies, which have in the past consistently printed at least twice as much paper as any other Nordic market.
Com Hem, rated BB by Standard & Poor's, is set to expand Sweden’s lead with its new five year senior unsecured offering. The telecom company plans to issue them through its subsidiary NorCell Sweden Holding 3. DNB Markets and Nordea are bookrunners with co-managers Swedbank and Danske Bank.
Com Hem opened conditional redemption of its 2019 Skr2.5bn bond (€250m) on November 1. The old notes were sold in October 2014 at 99.378 with a 5.25% coupon.
They were trading at a cash price just below 103 on Thursday. If the bond transaction goes ahead, they would be redeemed at 102.625, plus accrued but unpaid interest.
Com Hem said in a statement that it is also negotiating new credit facilities to use together with the new bonds to close the refinancing of its 2019 notes.
Prior to the potential transaction, Com Hem has Skr12.4bn of debt. It includes a Skr3.5bn term loan, a Skr2bn revolver and Skr2.675bn of credit facilities. The remaining debt consists of unsecured high yield bonds.
The euro high yield market has a Swedish flavour this week. Chemical firm Perstorp began the week marketing a €1bn-equivalent bond offering to investors in Copenhagen.
The Caa1/CCC+ rated company has mandated Goldman Sachs as a global coordinator, and bookrunners HSBC and Nordea to sell €725m of fixed rate notes in euros and dollars, including a euro only floater and a $420m second lien bond.
All the fixed rate notes have a five year maturity and a non-call period of two years. The new floater has a five year non-call one tenor.