IFR Top 250 2006 Tables and Directory

IFR Top 250 2006: Rocky road ahead for credit

Despite a recent bout of hiccoughs, global investment-grade credit markets are still trading at historically tight spreads – for the time being. Cash-rich investors still appear willing to participate at these levels, and there is little sense that any meaningful contingency plan is required. So just happens when or if conditions deteriorate? Philip Wright investigates.

IFR Top 250 2006: Rewards come with risk

Investors in local currency bonds were the biggest losers in the emerging markets sell-off in June, with those holding Turkey paper suffering the most. The Republic moved to remedy the fall in its currency, and its bonds, with a chunky 175bp rate hike on June 7. Richard Jory and James Crombie report.

IFR Top 250 2006: A difficult call

With a torrent of cash flowing through the private equity industry, LBOs were hailed as the main source of deal flow in leveraged finance. Yet despite strong levels of issuance in both bond and loan markets, investors are having to make compromises to retain a share of these deals. By Adrian Simpson, Joy Ferguson and Tim Sifert.

IFR Top 250 2006: M&A boosts bond volumes

Corporate bond new-issue volumes are running significantly higher than 2005 levels, buoyed at least in part by a revival in M&A activity that has followed the five-year deleveraging trend. Acquisition announcements in Europe are running at record highs and although the phenomenon is already having a marked impact on bond market volumes, given the long lead times between announcement and eventual refinancing the bulk is yet to come. Helen Bartholomew reports.

IFR Top 250 2006: Navigating the NAIC waters

Heading into 2006, several underwriters had included hybrid transactions in their revenue plans for the year as there was a healthy pipeline of the transactions queued up. As a result, the rancour towards the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) was considerable when it essentially removed a third of the buyer base for the securities by classifying them as common equity. Andrew Stein reports.

IFR Top 250 2006: Lenders delight in M&A return

The return of M&A has been the big story in loan market this year, but European and US fortunes have differed on this front. In Europe, big-ticket acquisition deals have transformed the market, while a dearth of such deals has made life tougher for US loan houses. Nachum Kaplan and Tim Sifert report.

IFR Top 250 2006: Playing the local card

The Asian Development Bank has been walking a tightrope for over 30 years between raising cost-effective funding and making a significant contribution to the evolution of local capital markets. The bank hopes to make a number of landmark local currency bond issues in 2006 in a bid to keep up this balancing act. Joseph Radford reports.

IFR Top 250 2006: Private placements, double-digit yields and fees galore

The Bakrie group of companies and their majority shareholders – the Bakrie family – have been the most conspicuous of Indonesian borrowers, tapping the market frequently through a series of mostly private placements that pay huge fees of 4% to 6% for underwriters and offer double-digit yields to investors. As a consequence, deal mandates from the Bakrie group are some of the most highly sought in Asia. Luc Mongeon reports.

IFR Top 250 2006: Going global

Citigroup plans to borrow roughly 50% of its target issuance of US$25–$30bn in non-US dollar currencies this year, a funding strategy that mirrors CEO Chuck Prince’s goal of boosting international revenues at the bank. In the secured markets Citigroup has been funding at sub-Libor levels recently, while its unsecured borrowing has been edging out in duration. John D’Antona reports.

IFR Top 250 2006: Blazing a trail

Project financings and FI-linked transactions have long been the mainstay of the Middle East loan market. But DP World turned to the loan market to fund its ambitious overseas expansion culminating in a US$6.8bn facility to finance its acquisition of P&O. In doing so the group has blazed a trail for other Middle East groups looking to expand. David Cox reports.

IFR Top 250 2006: Setting records

E.ON rewrote the history books when it put in place a €32bn loan to fund its takeover bid for Endesa. The loan was the largest Europe had ever seen. As a syndicated bridge facility to longer-term capital market issues, the E.ON loan is emblematic of the trend that is seeing corporates taking an increasingly holistic approach to financing across the capital markets. By David Cox.

IFR Top 250 2006: The ABS LBO

The US$15.1bn buyout of Hertz from Ford last December used both the leveraged and structured finance markets. In spite of auto sector troubles and general LBO fatigue, investors piled into the deal. Ford generated much-needed cash and the sponsors proved that the ABS market could be combined with traditional financing in enough size to fund a jumbo buyout. Joy Ferguson reports.

IFR Top 250 2006: In search of sub-libor financing

With US$6.2bn to raise this year, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has already set the pace with a US$1bn five-year benchmark and hopes to return in 2006 with a 10-year of similar size. But as global rates trend upward, the cost-conscious borrower may have to rely less on its traditional stomping grounds. By Paul Kilby.

IFR Top 250 2006: Looking to diversify

As one of the world’s top 25 borrowers in terms of public bond issuance, KfW has an established benchmark curve in the major currencies. But it might be looking to establish one in a number of non-core currencies within a decade, writes Mike Winfield.

IFR Top 250 2006: On the right track

A year on from acquiring its government guarantee, Network Rail – the company that owns and operates the UK’s rail infrastructure network – has taken a strategic approach to its capital markets funding, pricing a number of successful deals to establish itself as a true Gilt surrogate. Rachelle Horn reports.

IFR Top 250 2006: Rock solid foundations

With an aggressive growth plan but less access to retail deposit funding than its rivals, Northern Rock has evolved into one of the most prolific RMBS issuers in the European market. In recent years, the bank has been at the forefront of the market with a number of innovative deals and structures, and has set new standards and templates for its competitors to follow. Alec Mattinson reports.

IFR Top 250 2006: Turnaround story

The Philippines’ image as a borrower has undergone a remarkable transformation over the last year or so from maladroit peddler of dodgy debt to savvy capital markets darling. It remains to be seen whether in the light of recent negative developments in its debt markets the sovereign can solidify these new credentials, but the signs are encouraging, writes Jonathan Rogers.

IFR Top 250 2006: Operation sustainable value

To strike a balance between debt and equity investors is a tough act. But the Royal Bank of Scotland Group has excelled in the art of juggling the diverse needs of the two groups, directly by helping to realise value for debt investors through fair issue pricing and indirectly by leveraging shareholder returns and providing cost-efficient funding for the group. Malini Menon reports.

IFR Top 250 2006: Looking ahead

Residential Capital Corp (ResCap) has made its presence felt in the unsecured market over the past year, with its attractive yields, step-up coupons and liquid offerings. It has hit its target of repaying debt to GMAC as quickly as possible, but the firm’s future funding tactics are less certain. Andrew Stein reports.

IFR Top 250 2006: EM fall-out rattles sovereign paper

After 2005’s lauded issuance strategy that saw Turkey secure IFR’s sovereign borrower of the year award, the Treasury got off to another bumper start in 2006 before being wrong-footed by May’s emerging market correction. John Weavers reports.

IFR Top 250 2006: As bold as ever

Swiss mining group Xstrata, one of Europe’s most acquisitive companies, was back on the M&A trail again in May with a US$18.5bn debt package to support its C$16.1bn (US$14.6bn) bid for the 80.2% of Canadian copper and nickel firm Falconbridge that it does not own. Nachum Kaplan reports.