US primary market issuances dropped to $13.2bn vs. $23.1bn in the week prior. IG issuances fell last week to $9.6bn vs. $15.1bn in the prior week and HY issuances were lower at $3.1bn vs. $6.4bn in the prior week. The largest deals in the IG space were led by Salesforce’s $8bn six-trancher followed by American Homes 4 Rent’s $750mn two-trancher. In the HY space, Elastic NV’s $975mn two-trancher and APX Group’s $800mn deal led the table. In North America, there were a total of 28 upgrades and 16 downgrades combined across the three major rating agencies last week. LatAm saw $3.5bn vs. $4.51bn in new bond issuances in the prior week. Issuances were led by the Brazil government’s $2.25bn dual-trancher and Suzano’s $1bn issuance. EU Corporate G3 issuances were also lower at $17.3bn vs. $21.6bn in the week prior – Vallourec, SocGen, Credit Agricole and UniCredit raised €1bn ($1.18bn). Across the European region, there were 28 upgrades and 19 downgrades across the three major rating agencies. Overall, GCC and Sukuk G3 issuances rose sharply to $13.6bn vs. $1bn in the week prior singlehandedly led by Qatar Petroleum’s $12.5bn four-part offering, the largest deal in APAC and Middle East since the Saudi Government issued a $12.5bn three-trancher in September 2017. Across the Middle East/Africa region, there was 1 upgrade and 6 downgrades across the three major rating agencies. APAC ex-Japan G3 issuances were slightly higher at $10.25bn vs. $9.1bn in the prior week – The Philippines government’s $3bn two-trancher led the table followed by NAB’s €850mn ($1.01bn) deal, BOCOM Hong Kong and Mongolia’s $1bn issuances each. In the Asia ex-Japan region, there were 9 upgrades and 7 downgrades combined across the three major rating agencies last week. Within Asia (including Japan), SoftBank raised over $7bn via a USD & EUR issuance, Asia’s second largest bond deal YTD which was issued on the back of good market conditions and to expand their investor base.
The Week That Was
