Mergers & Acquisitions

· Global M&A Down to September 2004 Level - Despite signs of improvement like the return of Merger Monday (20/04/09), global announced M&A reached $113.4bn for 2,713 deals, its lowest level since September 2004 ($89.6bn, 2,557 deals).

· Bankruptcy Acquisitions Still Present in April - There were an additional 21 bankruptcy acquisitions worth $1.3bn announced in April. Year to date, Industrials account for about a quarter all of deals announced.

Debt Capital Markets

· Government Guaranteed Bonds Down to Their Lowest Since November 2008 - As more US banks signalled their interest to repay part of the debt raised through TLGP, issuance of new government guaranteed bonds dropped to US$63.5bn for 45 issues, its lowest level since November 2008 ($49.5bn, 19 issues).

· High Yield Bonds Issuance at 11-Month-High - $9.6bn raised in April from 18 issues, the highest level of activity since May 2008 ($12.4bn, 27 issues).

Equity Capital Markets

· IPO Market Bounces Back in April - With $2.8bn raised through 14 issues April was the busiest busiest month for IPO since August 2008 ($3bn, 32 issues). Seven of the ten largest IPOs of the year were announced in April.

· Convertibles Issuance Records Best Month since June 08 - With $9.5bn raised globally through 24 issues April 2009 was the busiest month since June 2008 ($10.4bn, 26 issues). Activity is up 117% from March 2009 ($4.4bn, 12 issues) but down 43% from April 2008 ($16.6bn, 28 issues).

Syndicated Loans

· Syndicated Loan Down 53% in April - After two consecutive months of growth global syndicated loan issuance raised only $91bn though 101 issues in April, down 53% from March 2009 ($192bn, 694 issues).

· Acquisition Related Loans Accounted for 44% of Issuance - Thanks mostly to 2 large loans by Gas Natural ($29bn) and Enel SpA ($10.2bn) acquisition related loans totalled $40.3bn in April and accounted for 44% of overall syndicated loans, a level not seen since July 2008.

http://financial.thomsonreuters.com/deo/pdf/Weekly_Scorecard_050709.pdf

Last Week's Highlights

Biggest IPO of 2009 Lists on Hong Kong Stock Exchange

Initial public offering volume received a big boost this week as Chinese conglomerate Zhongwang Holdings brought its aluminum business public on the Hong Kong stock exchange, raising $1.3 billion, in the biggest IPO this year and the largest Chinese IPO since August 2008.

Managers on the transaction stand to earn a combined $25-$35 million for the deal, including an estimated $4-$6 million each for bookrunners UBS, CITIC, and JP Morgan, which also rank as the top three banks for Asia Pacific IPO underwriting by fees year-to-date.

Energy and Power Offering is Largest Since 2002

The financial arm of Netherlands-based energy giant Shell International priced a $6.6 billion investment grade offering this week, the fifth largest global deal of the year across all industries. Within the energy and power sector, this is the largest investment grade issue since May 2002 when Germany's E On International Finance raised $6.7 billion.

In Europe, investment grade corporate debt issuance totals $395.4 billion year-to-date, just 3% short of the level last year-to-date. Of this total, energy and power companies account for 26% of overall proceeds, second only to financials which garnered 32% share of proceeds.

Please use the 'E-Mail' button immediately under the article title to send this item to a friend.

Press here to comment on this story >>

Today in Life: Unemployed? Cash Is On The Way >>

TODAY

• Top Firms Finally Hit By H1N1 Threat
• 'It's Not As If They Paid Great Bonuses In The First Place!'
• Top Firm Caught Out By Rogue Traders

THIS WEEK

• Bank Of America CEO Poll - Incredible Result
• Speculation Mounts About Goldman's Bonus Plans
• Bankers Will Have The Last Laugh On Pay