German Sovereign

Unitymedia Kabel BW, the German cable operator, has launched €725m-equivalent of senior notes to refinance outstanding debt. It is the first high yield transaction since last Tuesday, as issuers have stayed away from a tumultuous primary and secondary market.

Landesbank Baden-Württemberg has announced that Rainer Bucher will be its new head of syndicated loans from January 1, 2015.

Deutsche Wohnen, the German residential property company, has agreed loans totalling €1.36bn with two German banks, completing a €1.76bn refinancing process that began with its €400m seven year convertible bond issue at the beginning of September.

Four issuers launched covered bonds from Germany, Sweden, Norway and Austria this week. The transactions were all well subscribed and priced tightly but the greatest degree of price tension was seen in deals that are expected to be eligible for the European Central Bank’s purchase programme.

Adidas, the German sportswear maker, issued its first bond for five years on Wednesday. The company’s rarity, high perceived credit quality of around the single-A level and very strong brand name should have made this a triumphant deal, but in the treacherous conditions of this week it was a mess.

Adidas, the German sportswear maker, issued its first bond for five years on Wednesday. The company’s rarity, high perceived credit quality of around the single-A level and very strong brand name should have made this a triumphant deal – but in the treacherous conditions of this week it was a mess.

Hexagon — Norma Group

German e-commerce startup incubator Rocket Internet fell in the aftermarket after it completed its IPO on Thursday, getting caught up in a market-wide turn against online retail stocks.

Adidas, the German sportswear maker, issued its first bond for five years today, with a €1bn seven and 12 year offering. Adidas is a high quality name, but 12 years is an unusually long maturity for an unrated issuer, and with financial markets jittery again today, the deal may not have whizzed off the books as much as it might have in a more bullish atmosphere. Bankers said it widened sharply in the aftermarket.

German online retailer Zalando completed a heavily oversubscribed IPO on Tuesday, finding strong demand despite competing for attention with much bigger peers.

German cable firm Tele Columbus launched an IPO on Tuesday, hoping that another deal from the sector after what has been a busy year for cable will help rather than hinder the flotation.

Norma Group, the German engineering company specialising in pipe fixings and connectors, has agreed a €100m term loan and €50m revolving credit facility. It will use the money to pay back the rest of its bank loans signed in 2011, which were due in 2016.