ULVR Unilever Plc

By Anna Isaac and Anna Hirtenstein 

Europe's bond market proved it remains open for blue-chip companies -- amid the global rout in other sectors -- after consumer-goods giant Unilever PLC and French energy producer Engie SA sold about EUR4.5 billion ($4.8 billion) in bonds.

The two businesses were the only companies to successfully tap the region's debt markets this week, according to data from Dealogic.

The deals are also "a sign that people can work with capital markets while sitting at their kitchen table," Tomas Lundquist, a managing director at Citigroup who helped arrange the deals, said in an interview.

Europe's debt markets haven't shut down completely, even as investors have shunned global stocks, bonds and commodities in recent weeks. Deal making had slowed to a trickle, with only the most creditworthy companies finding buyers. Junk-rated companies, on the other hand, have been virtually closed out of the market as investors sold off even the safest assets and sought to hold cash.

Last week, French food products company Danone raised EUR800 million, while German trainline Deutsche Bahn tapped the bond market for EUR150 million, according to Dealogic.

This week, Unilever raised about EUR2 billion from five-year and 10-year bonds, while Engie issued EUR2.5 billion of five-, eight- and 12-year bonds, according to Citigroup. The bonds were priced on Friday. Unilever is rated A1 by Moody's Investors Service, while Engie has an A3 credit rating.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 20, 2020 15:10 ET (19:10 GMT)

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