Source:
www.breakingviews.com
is Europe's leading financial commentary service
Date: July 2003
By Mike Monnelly
Companies are selling convertible bonds by the bucket load. And investors are snapping them up as if they are going out of fashion. Can both be right?
May was a phenomenal month for the convertibles market. US companies raised $12.5 billion, the highest monthly total in a year and a half. Europe had its second best month over this period, with sales of $5.5 billion. Low interest rates, narrowing credit spreads and a fairly high level of volatility on the stock market have produced ideal conditions for launching convertibles.
Nevertheless, some of the deals have been done on unbelievably advantageous terms - for the issuers. Take April's $750 million deal from US internet portal Yahoo! Not only do the bonds pay no interest,...
You must be a Level 2 subscriber to access this archived content.
If your subscription includes access to the archive, please log in now to view.
To gain access to this content visit the subscription page or call our hotline on +44 (0)207 779 8999.
Subscribe online now and save up to 30% on your subscription.
If you are a trialist or subscriber, please enter your username and password at the top right-hand side of euromoney.com
Subscribers to Euromoney benefit from:
Level 1:
- Online access to the past 12 months content
- Tailored RSS news feeds direct to your desktop
- News delivered directly to your mobile device or PC
- Personalised email newsfeed of 'Top stories' and 'Breaking news'
Level 2:
- Exclusive access to euromoney.com - Read the latest issue early online, search for specific developments by region or sector, interrogate the results of Euromoney's benchmark polls, and view the archive dating back to 2000
- 12 monthly issues of Euromoney magazine
- More than 30 specialist research guides free
- The results of Euromoney’s polls and surveys
- Tailored RSS news feeds direct to your desktop
- News delivered directly to your mobile device or PC
- Personalised email newsfeed of 'Top stories' and 'Breaking news'
Click here to subscribe