Switzerland

An undisclosed seller has offloaded a Sfr90.7m stake in Galenica, the Swiss retail pharmacies company, through an accelerated bookbuild on Tuesday evening.

Financial institutions bond bankers are hoping to build back better in April after coping with a tumultuous end to the first quarter. They say the holiday season and a recent back-up in yields will combine to create the perfect conditions for a long-awaited credit rally.

Athene Global Funding encountered slim demand on its return to the sterling market this week, but UBS had better luck at the short end of the maturity curve.

Dufry, the Swiss duty-free concession operator, has issued a new five-year Sfr500m convertible bond to help refinance the Sfr350m three-year convertible it received in April 2020 following the initial onset of the pandemic, which caused a collapse in the company’s share price.

Swiss Steel, the Swiss steel company formerly known as Schmolz + Bickenbach, has finished its Sfr247m at-market rights issue, following a rump placement on Monday night.

Swiss Steel, the Swiss manufacturer of steel and steel products formerly known as Schmolz + Bickenbach, has unveiled the terms of a Sfr220m (€200m) rights issue, required to help the company improve its capital position.

BNP Paribas returned to the Swiss franc market to land a new senior non-preferred issue slightly inside its euro curve this week. In recent weeks, several foreign borrowers have tapped the market and, with tightening levels looking attractive, bankers are confident more could follow.

This week was the busiest of the year so far for bank senior supply in euros, as issuers took advantage of strong market conditions after posting full year results.

UBS found room for $5bn of new debt in the dollar market this week, starting with a “phenomenal” result for a new additional tier one (AT1) on Monday and ending with a three-part senior offering a day later.

Credit Suisse issued a two-part covered bond in Swiss francs on Monday, choosing to limit the deal sizes in order to ensure a tight spread and low yield.

Apollo Global Management has continued to selldown its stake in Watches of Switzerland, the UK luxury watch retailer, following a strong rally in the stock since its IPO on the London Stock Exchange in May 2019.

Credit Suisse took advantage of a ferocious rally in subordinated debt to land its lowest ever coupon for an additional tier one (AT1) in dollars this week. The deal was also the Swiss bank’s debut use of Sofr to hedge interest rate risk on new issuance.