Switzerland

The KKR-backed Swiss software company, SoftwareOne, has closed the books on its IPO on Thursday at just below the mid-point of its revised price range.

A rise in the Swiss swap curve and an improvement in cross-currency dynamics helped momentum created by a well-received Citi trade last Friday to be carried over into this week. Three familiar FIG names returned to the market on Monday, including Chile’s Banco de Credito e Inversiones (BCI).

Switzerland’s largest private and commercial vehicle leasing company starred in an otherwise quiet market for Swiss franc issuance this week.

SoftwareOne Holding, the KKR-backed IT services company, is making good progress on its IPO on the SIX Swiss Exchange, despite market sentiment being hit by the poor aftermarket performance of TeamViewer, the German software company that listed in Frankfurt last month.

Middle Eastern banks returned to the Swiss franc market this week after an absence of almost five months with trades from two Gulf banks providing some respite for yield-starved investors.

Swiss investors’ thirst for yield was quenched in some style at the end of last week, when Russian Railways printed the largest Swiss franc transaction of the year from an emerging market borrower.

SoftwareOne Holding, the KKR-backed IT services company, launched its IPO on the SIX Swiss Exchange on Monday.

Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Ireland this week printed a bond with what leads said was the lowest ever yield in Swiss francs from an Italian issuer. Following successful outings earlier this year in euros and yen, Italy’s largest banking group by assets turned to Swiss francs on Tuesday with a Sfr225m ($227.3m) five year senior trade that was also the first from an Italian borrower in the currency this year and the largest since the financial crisis.

Swiss medical firm Lonza has refinanced its term debt and revolving credit facilities, in dollars, euros and Swiss francs.

Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, the Belgian investment company, has launched a €750m bond exchangeable into shares in LafargeHolcim, the Swiss building materials company.

Credit Suisse and SpareBank 1 priced deals in senior format this week, choosing longer maturities to avoid entering negative yield territory. SpareBank 1’s €500m green bond attracted demand of €700m but leads were not able to tighten pricing to the tight end of their price guidance.

A manic Wednesday night of block trades capped off a good week for ECM volume as sellers took advantage of a positive market environment.