European IPO recovery more secure after Verisure
Investors made significant profits last week from Verisure's €3.155bn float, the largest IPO of the year globally, building on improved sentiment towards European ECM as IPOs trade up, difficult capital raises get done and London witnesses a mini listing revival.
M&A financing to heat up in India
Mergers and acquisitions in India will be able to draw on a far bigger pool of liquidity after the central bank said it will allow domestic banks to provide financing for such deals for the first time in years.

MapLight to go public despite US government shutdown
MapLight Therapeutics, a biotech company developing treatments for Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia, moved ahead with its Nasdaq IPO last week despite the ongoing US government shutdown, using a mechanism that means it can go public in October without further regulatory approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Junk bond investors seek ways to play AI boom
As markets obsess over artificial intelligence and the potential profits it might reap, US junk bond investors are trying to find ways to play the AI theme in an asset class that provides few opportunities to gain any upside from the emerging technology.

Rupak Ghose
Is the reemergence of Japanese financial markets and risk appetite a secular shift or just a mirage in a wide desert? That is what international banks have been wondering for a while but recent moves will give full confidence that they need to invest in Japan or risk being too late to the party.
US investment bank Jefferies said it may face losses of up to US$715m from exposure to the collapse of bankrupt auto parts company First Brands. It may not be the only bank to rack up losses.
The International Monetary Fund is likely to adopt a more confident tone in dealing with the world’s financial problems when its member countries meet this week in Washington now that a key actor in US president Donald Trump’s administration has taken a senior role at the fund.

Financial services M&A is having its best year since 2021 as chief executives pull the trigger on deals that have been on the board for a while, such as HSBC's US$13.6bn move to buy all of Hang Seng Bank in Hong Kong. Other deals, such as Fifth Third Bancorp’s US$10.9bn takeover of Comerica, have snapped into place more quickly.

Japan’s private equity exit environment is booming as a drive for corporate governance reforms and improvements in shareholder value has made companies more receptive to deals, prompting more global players to consider the market.
France’s uncertain political and fiscal outlook are set to weigh on local stocks and government bonds for the foreseeable future, investors and analysts say, following the resignation of France’s third prime minister in 15 months and mounting expectations of fresh elections.
Angola has become the latest high-yield sovereign to issue bonds in recent weeks with a US$1.75bn dual-tranche deal on Tuesday that summed up how open primary markets are for even the most challenged credits.
As markets obsess over artificial intelligence and the potential profits it might reap, US junk bond investors are trying to find ways to play the AI theme in an asset class that provides few opportunities to gain any upside from the emerging technology.

The Czech Republic has breathed fresh life into the stalled sovereign social bond market with a rare issue that also ended the European Union member state’s longstanding absence from ESG bond markets.

The Republic of Indonesia has raised more than US$2.5bn-equivalent from a multi-tranche bond deal as it moves forward from the political upheaval it has faced in recent months.

The US solar asset-backed securities sector has regained some lustre, proving it is still a viable funding source for renewable energy issuers after a rough summer that cast a shadow over its future.

BPCE, a regular issuer of French public prime RMBS since 2018, priced the first deal from its newly created master trust programme amid good investor interest, despite political turbulence in France.

DCS Card Centre, formerly known as Diners Club Singapore, is evaluating asset-backed securitisations in US dollars, it said in response to IFR queries after the successful completion of its most recent S$450m (US$348.8m) ABS deal – its largest yet.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia returned to the RMBS market after a two-year absence on Thursday to print the A$1.5bn (US$990m) self-led funding-only Medallion Trust Series 2025-1, which sets a new benchmark for Australian securitisations.

World Bank Group is creating a single treasury operation as part of its continuing modernisation under president Ajay Banga, though its three capital markets issuers – the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Finance Corp and the International Development Association – will retain their separate funding programmes and identities.
Global loan trade associations are getting ready to launch a dedicated transition label that could encourage more high-emitting companies to raise labelled loans to fund decarbonisation.

The Czech Republic has breathed fresh life into the stalled sovereign social bond market with a rare issue that also ended the European Union member state’s longstanding absence from ESG bond markets.
Investors made significant profits last week from Verisure's €3.155bn float, the largest IPO of the year globally, building on improved sentiment towards European ECM as IPOs trade up, difficult capital raises get done and London witnesses a mini listing revival.
MapLight Therapeutics, a biotech company developing treatments for Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia, moved ahead with its Nasdaq IPO last week despite the ongoing US government shutdown, using a mechanism that means it can go public in October without further regulatory approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

LG Electronics India drew strong investor interest to its up to Rs116bn (US$1.31bn) IPO after it dropped the valuation of the offering.

Maynilad Water Services is optimistic about completing its up to Ps25.3bn (US$437m) IPO thanks to the backing of cornerstone investors and an attractive dividend yield, even as the broader market outlook is weak.

Mergers and acquisitions in India will be able to draw on a far bigger pool of liquidity after the central bank said it will allow domestic banks to provide financing for such deals for the first time in years.

India’s central bank is proposing a major liberalisation of the complex rules governing offshore borrowing that could broaden the sources of foreign capital for the country's companies.
Opella has broken free of the shackles of call protection to reprice the term loan Bs tied to its buyout by Clayton Dubilier & Rice, and Apleona could potentially follow suit with a material pricing move in mind.
As private credit makes a bid to reach the masses, more asset managers are testing the viability of the asset class in exchange-traded funds, which typically hold more liquid investments.

Read the latest stories from the magazine IFR 2604 - 11 Oct 2025 - 17 Oct 2025
11 Oct 2025 - 17 Oct 2025