por admin » Lun May 28, 2012 7:47 pm
Las companias Europeas no quieren prestamos de bancos Europeos, estan viniendo de frente a US. Las companias Europeas se han prestado $18 billones a los intereses actuales. Esos son los prestamos mas grandes desde el 2007.
EUROPE BUSINESS NEWSMay 28, 2012, 7:05 p.m. ET
Europe Turning To U.S. for Loans
By DANA CIMILLUCA And SERENA NG
In the latest symptom of Europe's financial turmoil, the region's riskier companies are bypassing banks and investors at home and turning to the U.S. for loans.
European companies borrowed some €14.4 billion (about $18 billion at current rates) in the U.S. leveraged-loan market this year through Friday, more than double the €6.7 billion for all of 2011, according to data from S&P Capital IQ LCD. That is the highest amount since at least 2007, the height of the last boom in leveraged lending, when full-year loan volume was €12.2 billion, according to S&P.
The leveraged-loan market is used by companies with high-yield or noninvestment-grade credit ratings, making it particularly sensitive to Europe's debt crisis, now in its third year.
In boom times, this market is driven by financings for mergers and acquisitions. But with companies now largely shying away from M&A, recent deals more often involve borrowers swapping old loans for new ones.
Worries about Europe have risen in the past month. An election in Greece earlier this month raised the specter that the country could be forced from the euro zone. New elections are set for June 17.
Meanwhile, fears over the health of banks in Spain, the euro zone's fourth-largest economy, have deepened the concerns. On Friday, Spain's government announced the effective nationalization of one of the country's biggest lenders because of bad loans. The move sparked fears that returning the Spanish banking sector to health will cost more than the country can manage.
The increased demand for European debt has been driven by a dearth of high-yielding options from U.S. companies, bankers say. That demand could help keep a lid on European corporate borrowing costs.
One risk for European firms is that if the supply of leveraged loans from U.S. companies increases, the demand for European debt could diminish. That could reduce the European companies' funding options, pushing up their costs. "For practical purposes the credit markets are shut in Europe and companies need to find outlets," says Frederick Haddad, a partner and senior loan portfolio manager at GoldenTree Asset Management in New York.
A number of European companies with big borrowing needs, such as racing group Formula One and chemical company Ineos Group Ltd., have turned to the U.S. in recent weeks to find buyers for at least half of their leveraged loans, according to Thomson Reuters LPC.
Ineos placed more than three-quarters of a roughly $3 billion issue in the U.S. The Swiss company wanted to sell more of the deal in Europe, but realized it wouldn't have found enough demand, according to a person familiar with the matter. Adding to the difficulty of selling the deal in Europe: This was a so-called covenant-lite offering, meaning it contains looser default triggers than other loans.
Companies aren't abandoning Europe altogether. German auto parts maker Schaeffler AG, for example, sold most of a roughly $8 billion debt package in February to European investors. A slice of the borrowing took place in the U.S., however, because the company wouldn't have been able to raise the entire amount in Europe, this person said.
The leveraged-loan market is made up of banks as well as institutional investors like hedge funds and debt-investment pools known as collateralized loan obligations. In Europe, banks' appetite for riskier loans has taken a hit as many lenders grapple with their own funding challenges and stricter capital requirements. Meanwhile, CLO issuance and investors' risk appetite in general have fallen in Europe as a result of years of unremitting financial upheaval.
In the U.S., the economy has held up better and banks are generally on sounder footing. Demand for high-yield debt from mutual funds is causing a stream of cash for companies in Europe to tap, while CLO issuance has been more robust than in Europe, bankers say.
Robert Hetu, a managing director of investment banking at Credit Suisse Group AG, CSGN.VX -1.39%says U.S. investors are keen to lend to European companies with good track records and businesses that are easy to understand.
Credit Suisse arranged loan deals for companies including Germany's Grohe Holding GmbH, a maker of bathroom fittings, and Misys PLC, a U.K.-based provider of banking software, which both issued debt in the U.S. and Europe earlier this month.
European companies are under pressure to diversify their funding, said Ken Young, a senior managing director at private-equity firm CVC, which owns Formula One.
The racing group, which is preparing an initial public offering of shares in Singapore, recently placed a $1.4 billion loan due in 2017 that was split roughly equally between Europe in the U.S.
Mr. Young said the surge in U.S. leveraged loans is in part the result of increasing integration between European and U.S. credit markets.
In another reflection of Europe's debt crisis, the region's companies borrowed more from the bond market than they did from banks in the first quarter, according to data provider Dealogic. Banks have long dominated lending in Europe.
Some bankers say the trends could continue, especially if next month's Greek election includes a strong showing by parties opposed to an international bailout.
"Many European issuers wishing to raise a sizable amount in the loan market may need to tap the dollar market for additional funding or focus on alternative asset classes," said Kristian Orssten, the head of European high yield and loan capital markets at J.P. Morgan Chase JPM -1.38%& Co. in London. J.P. Morgan was an underwriter on both the Schaeffler and Ineos offerings.