Spain

Metrovacesa, the Spanish property developer, has opened the books for its IPO on the Spanish stock exchanges with a price range that values it at up to €2.95bn.

Spain, fresh from an upgrade to its Fitch credit rating, hit screens on Monday to announce a new 10 year euro benchmark. The sovereign will share the market with Agence Française de Développement (AFD).

Spain’s Gas Natural came to the investment grade bond market on Tuesday for an €850m 10 year deal, with the borrower seeing almost triple demand for its notes as rumours bubbled about a potential stake sale from major holder Repsol.

Expectations for a busy week in the investment grade corporate market were maintained despite only Telefonica taking advantage of good primary conditions on Monday, as it sold a benchmark nine year bond in euros.

US private equity firm Lone Star sold a 9.9m block of shares in Spanish real estate developer Neinor Homes after the market closed of Wednesday, via an accelerated bookbuild that was “substantially “oversubscribed,” according to a banker involved.

January’s impressive pipeline of sovereign issuance is starting to unload, as Italy and Portugal hit screens on Tuesday for their first syndications of the year.

Metrovacesa, the Spanish property developer that collapsed during the financial crisis, hopes to become a listed company again, having filed an intention to float document on Tuesday.

Cellnex, the Spanish telecoms company, has joined the ranks of Europe’s equity-linked issuers after successfully placing a €600m debut convertible bond.

India’s real estate firm Mangla Group has joined with a Catalonian pro-independence business lobby, Cercle Català de Negocis (CCN), to establish a new property-backed direct lending fund aimed at businesses in Catalonia and the Balearic islands.

Sweden-based EQT has provided funding to Abac, a private equity firm in Catalonia, to invest further in local portfolio company Metalcaucho, which makes spare parts for cars. This was despite political unrest in the region.

The people of Catalonia will on Thursday vote in a snap regional election called following the independence referendum earlier on October 1, which caused the Spanish national government to take control of the Catalan parliament.

The Single Resolution Board (SRB) should not have needed an appeal panel to determine that the Banco Popular resolution could have been more transparent. It was blatantly obvious from the outset.