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HONG KONG, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Zeekr, Chinese automaker Geely's upmarket electric car brand, has confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering, aiming to raise more than $1 billion, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. That compares with a valuation of about $9 billion in its maiden external fundraising last year. In doing so, it joins a growing list of Chinese automakers looking to launch or expand sales of EVs in the region. According to two of the sources, Zeekr also considered Hong Kong as its listing venue but picked New York in the hope of achieving a higher valuation. It said in October it would spin Zeekr off but did not identify a listing venue or the likely value of an offering.

Forrest said in a statement Squadron had acquired CWP Renewables but did not disclose the price. And the more we create and deploy new renewable energy, the cheaper it becomes for every Australian and the world," Forrest told Reuters after the announcement. With CWP Renewables, Squadron would have the scale it needs to meet demand from large commercial and industrial customers for reliable green energy in eastern Australia, he said. Willoughby said CWP aimed to give the go-ahead by March 2023 to build a 400 MW wind farm, which would cost more than A$1 billion. There are literally trillions of dollars of capital looking for green energy projects," he said.

SYDNEY/MELBOURNE, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Mining billionaire Andrew Forrest's private firm Squadron Energy has acquired CWP Renewables in Australia for more than A$4 billion ($2.7 billion), three people familiar with the deal said on Wednesday. Forrest said in a statement Squadron had acquired CWP Renewables, owner of 1.1 gigawatts of wind farms and a development pipeline of 1.3 GW of wind and solar farms in Australia, but did not disclose the price. CWP was sold by Swiss-based investor Partners Group (PGHN.S), which said it built the Australian business up after first investing in the Sapphire Wind Farm in the state of New South Wales in 2016. Other companies that had looked at CWP included Spain's Iberdrola (IBE.MC), Tilt Renewables, partly owned by AGL Energy (AGL.AX), and Origin Energy (ORG.AX), all aiming to expand in renewable energy as Australia speeds up its transition away from coal-fired power. With CWP Renewables, Squadron would have the scale it needs in eastern Australia to meet demand from large commercial and industrial customers for reliable green energy, Forrest said.

The private lender raised 150 billion rupees ($1.85 billion) through 10-year Tier-II bonds at an annual coupon of 7.86%, for which it had received bids worth 240.80 billion rupees, according to merchant bankers. A large state-run insurance company and a big provident fund house invested an aggregate of 90 billion rupees in this issue, merchant bankers said. HDFC Bank completes its debt sale a day ahead of State Bank of India's bond issue. HDFC Bank is set to be merged with parent Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC.NS) in the coming months, and both entities have been on a fundraising spree this financial year. While HDFC Bank has raised 30 billion rupees, excluding the latest issue, HDFC has raised around 550 billion rupees through bond issuance.

China's CSI300 Index (.CSI300) was down 1.8% after opening down 2.2% while the yuan also retreated. Australia's benchmark stock index (.AXJO) closed 0.42% lower while its risk-sensitive currency was off more than 1%. Japan's Nikkei stock index (.N225) was down 0.6%. In Shanghai, demonstrators and police clashed on Sunday night as protests over the country's stringent COVID restrictions flared for a third day. The COVID rules and resulting protests are creating fears the economic hit for China will be greater than first expected.

South Korea's KOSPI 200 index (.KS200) retreated 1.35% in early trade and New Zealand's S&P/NZX50 Index (.NZ50) was off 0.4%. In China, demonstrators and police clashed in Shanghai on Sunday night as protests over the country's stringent COVID restrictions flared for a third day. There were also protests in Wuhan, Chengdu and parts of the capital Beijing late Sunday as COVID restrictions were put in place in an attempt to quell fresh outbreaks. The COVID rules and resulting protests are creating fears the economic hit for China will be greater than expected. "This remains a headwind for oil demand that, combined with weakness in the U.S. dollar, is creating a negative backdrop for oil prices."

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) was up 0.3%, after U.S. stocks ended the previous session with gains. Australian shares (.AXJO) were up 0.7%, with most gains coming from mining and resources giants as a result of higher oil prices. Case numbers in Beijing and Shanghai are steadily rising, prompting authorities to close some facilities. "The biggest story for investors in Asia is still the China reopening," said Suresh Tantia, Credit Suisse's senior investment strategist in Singapore. While the FTX exchange collapse continues to roil cryptocurrency markets, Bitcoin was 0.33% higher in Asian trading hours to $16,184.

☆ European companies are tapping bond markets again as investors return
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Chiara Elisei | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

German housing giant Vonovia (VNAn.DE) last week raised 1.5 billion euros ($1.54 billion) amid strong investor demand in primary markets, a bright spark for a beleaguered property sector. Also noteworthy was a 750 million euro hybrid bond sale from Spanish telecoms firm Telefonica (TEF.MC), the first offering of its kind in Europe in two months. There were no hybrid bond deals in June and July, and only one transaction in September before Telefonica's offering. New hybrid bond sales total just over 10 billion euros so far this year, compared with 30 billion euros for the whole of 2021. In the broader market, investment grade corporate issuers have raised 258 billion euros so far this year compared with 322 billion euros in 2021, according to Refinitiv data.

HONG KONG/SYDNEY, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The fintech arm of Chinese e-commerce firm JD.Com (9618.HK) aims to win Beijing regulators' approval to list in Hong Kong as soon as the end of the year, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said, after a first attempt failed earlier this year. Reuters reported in May that JD Tech's original plan for a Hong Kong IPO was put on ice because it could not get regulatory approval for the deal to proceed. As a domestically incorporated company, JD Tech - JD.Com's fintech, cloud and artificial intelligence unit - needs approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to list offshore, including in the Chinese-controlled territory of Hong Kong. JD Tech, which was hived off as a separate unit in mid-2017, had appointed several banks to work on the IPO, but progress had slowed as it failed to win regulatory approval first time around, sources have previously told Reuters. read moreReporting by Julie Zhu and Kane Wu in Hong Kong and Scott Murdoch in Sydney; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Kenneth MaxwellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) was up 0.1%, following mild losses for U.S. overnight. Australian shares (.AXJO) lost 0.28%, while Japan's Nikkei stock index (.N225) was off 0.16%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index (.HSI) was flat while China's CSI300 Index (.CSI300) was down 0.3%. Some Chinese cities have begun cutting routine community testing, days after China announced an easing of some of its heavy-handed coronavirus measures. China reported 17,909 new COVID-19 infections on Nov. 14 compared with 16,203 a day earlier.

More than a dozen Chinese companies have unveiled plans to follow suit, according to exchange filings. The China-Switzerland Connect allows Chinese companies to raise capital by issuing and listing GDRs on Swiss bourse SIX. Swiss firms can issue Chinese Depository Receipts on the Chinese exchanges. She said UBS is also discussing with Chinese firms about listing in Frankfurt once rules are in place, so "our GDR mandates will keep coming". Despite the brighter prospects, deal sizes have been comparatively small, with Gotion's $685 million Swiss listing the biggest so far under the Swiss connect scheme.

SINGAPORE, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) has cut eight jobs in its Southeast Asia investment banking and capital markets team, two sources familiar with the matter said, just weeks after the Swiss bank announced a major global restructuring plan. One of the sources said the cuts in Southeast Asia affected teams involved with products, sector coverage and capital markets, but had not impacted managing directors. Jobs were also being cut elsewhere in the region, the two sources said, but did not provide details. The overall job reductions in Asia were less than what most employees had expected, three sources said. ($1 = 0.9649 Swiss francs)Reporting by Anshuman Daga and Scott Murdoch; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Sam HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Nov 10 (Reuters) - Origin Energy Ltd (ORG.AX), Australia's no.2 power producer and energy retailer, backed an A$18.4 billion ($11.8 billion) non-binding buyout offer from a consortium led by Canada's Brookfield Asset Management, the companies said on Thursday. The deal sent Origin's share price soaring nearly 40% in early trade to A$8.14. Origin opened its books to the consortium after it raised its offer to A$9 per share in cash, a near 55% premium to Origin's last close of A$5.81. The bid from Brookfield comes after it was rebuffed earlier this year when it led a $3.5 billion takeover offer for Australia's top power producer, AGL Energy (AGL.AX). Under the indicative proposal submitted on Thursday, Brookfield would acquire Origin's energy markets business, while MidOcean Energy, the other consortium partner, would take control of Origin's integrated gas business, including its 27.5% stake in Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG).

☆ Australia's Westpac to tap U.S. dollar bond market - term sheet
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Scott Murdoch | Thomson Reuters | Scott Murdoch Has Been A Journalist For More Than Two Decades Working For Thomson Reuters | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Australia's Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AX) has mandated banks to work on two- and five-year U.S. dollar bond issuances, according to a term sheet reviewed by Reuters. Westpac raised A$2.8 billion ($1.82 billion) in an Australian-dollar-denominated bond on Monday, domestic media said. The bank plans to issue in U.S. dollars a two-year fixed rate bond, a two-year floating rate note, and a five-year fixed rate transaction, the term sheet showed. The final pricing is due to be set later in the New York trading session on Wednesday, subject to market conditions, according to the term sheet. Westpac planned to use the U.S. dollar proceeds from the bonds for general corporate purposes, the term sheet showed.

HONG KONG, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Wall Street major Morgan Stanley (MS.N) is expected to start a fresh round of layoffs globally in the coming weeks, three people with knowledge of the plan said, as dealmaking business takes a hit due to rising inflation and an economic downturn. One of the sources said the bank's 30-plus technology investment banking team in Asia Pacific will also be affected by the cuts. Morgan Stanley last month reported a 30% slump in third-quarter profit, missing analysts' estimate as a slowdown in global dealmaking hurt its investment bank business. Gorman is currently in Hong Kong at a high-profile financial summit aimed at re-opening the city to international investors after nearly three years of strict COVID restrictions. Reporting by Kane Wu and Julie Zhu in Hong Kong, Scott Murdoch in Sydney and Lananh Nguyen in New York; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Richard PullinOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Perpetual rejected a $A30 per share offer proposal from Barings Private Equity Asia (BPEA), which was recently bought by EQT (EQTAB.ST), and Australian firm Regal Partners (RPL.AX). Perpetual shares rose by as much as 10.1% early on Thursday, the company's best session in more than two years, before retreating to be up 6.6%. Perpetual said it would press on with its planned A$2.51 billion acquisition of rival Pendal Group (PDL.AX) announced in August. The private equity offer represents a premium of about 11.5% to Perpetual's last close of A$26.90. BPEA is one of the region's largest private equity firms and was bought by EQT in March.

HONG KONG, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Hong Kong aims to restore its reputation as a global financial hub by playing host to a bevy of top Wall Street executives this week, defying critics who say a talent crunch and geopolitical tension will hobble its ambition. Alongside the main theme of "navigating through uncertainty", the summit is widely expected to focus on whether Hong Kong can remain a global financial centre after almost three years of border controls and pandemic restrictions. COVID-19 CONTROLSThe two-day summit, organised by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) - the de-facto central bank - has suffered at least two marquee participants dropping out after contracting COVID-19. Those who make it will look for reassurances of the city returning to pre-pandemic normalcy, making it easier for them to move talent to Hong Kong. Reporting by Scott Murdoch in Sydney and Kane Wu and Selena Li in Hong Kong; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Oct 31 (Reuters) - Australia's Nitro Software (NTO.AX) said on Monday it would back a near A$500 million ($320.15 million) offer from KKR Inc's (KKR.N) Alludo that trumps an earlier bid from major shareholder Potentia Capital Management. Shares of Nitro Software rose as much as 19.1% to A$2.06 in morning trade, the highest point since January. In a statement, Nitro said the Alludo offer was fully funded by "equity sources", without identifying the backers. Potentia has built a 19.8% stake in Nitro and declined to comment on the Alludo offer. Last week, ELMO Software (ELO.AX) agreed a $A500 million takeover from Los Angeles-based K1 Investment Management.

SYDNEY, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Australian investment firm Potentia Capital Management has increased its offer for Nitro Software Ltd (NTO.AX) to $A1.80 per share, valuing the company at A$430 million, according to a statement on Friday. Potentia said the offer would be its final after an indicative $1.58 per share bid was made in August. The deal is the second in the Australian software sector to be announced this week after K1 Investment Management said on Wednesday it had agreed a near $A500 million to buy ELMO Software. Potentia currently owns 19.8% of Nitro, maker of document software, and its stock was halted on Friday. Reporting by Scott Murdoch in Sydney; Editing by Cynthia OstermanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Australia's ELMO Software agrees near-$A500m takeover offer from U.S. firm
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Scott Murdoch | Thomson Reuters | Scott Murdoch Has Been A Journalist For More Than Two Decades Working For Thomson Reuters | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Australia's ELMO Software (ELO.AX) said on Wednesday it has agreed to a near-A$500 million ($319 million) takeover bid from Los Angeles-based K1 Investment Management. The offer is a 100.4% premium to the closing share price on Oct. 12, the day before ELMO announced it had received approaches expressing interest in a takeover. ELMO's shares on Wednesday shot 41% higher, erasing a 27% loss incurred so far in 2022 ahead of the takeover. Two of ELMO's biggest investors, JLAB Investments and the Garber Family Trust, have also backed the bid, ELMO's statement on Wednesday said. Since K1 is an overseas firm the takeover will require approval from Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board.

☆ Meet 9 top media bankers transforming the M&A landscape and driving deals for Warner Bros. Discovery, Legendary, Amazon, and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

2022 kicked off with some huge transactions, from AT&T's WarnerMedia spin-off to private equity scooping up content players. Brad Pitt's production company, Plan B, and Diamond Sports Group both recently tapped big banks to explore their options. Not surprisingly, WarnerMedia was at the heart of the richest transaction fee waterfall for big banks in 2022. Moelis and LionTree were just tapped to help figure out what's next for Sinclair's Regional Sports Networks, Diamond Sports Group, while Brad Pitt's production company, Plan B, also hired Moelis to shop the production company, according to Variety. There's lots of dry powder still in private equity, Navid Mahmoodzadegan, co-founder and co-president at investment bank Moelis, told Insider.

☆ Hong Kong hopes China Congress could revive economy, reverse IPO slump
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Scott Murdoch | Thomson Reuters | Scott Murdoch Has Been A Journalist For More Than Two Decades Working For Thomson Reuters | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HONG KONG, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Hong Kong dealmakers expect China's 20th Party Congress next week to herald a shift in focus in Beijing back towards business and economic issues that could help revive the city's IPO issuance from nine-year lows. Hong Kong only recently began its own reopening, relaxing its tough virus policies which have tarnished its credentials as a global financial centre. There has been just $9.28 billion worth of IPOs in Hong Kong this year, down from $37.1 billion in the same period in 2021, according to Refinitiv figures. Moreover, more than 80% of the IPOs in Hong Kong this year are trading under water since their debut, according to Dealogic data. Mainland Chinese IPOs have raised $54.12 billion, down 33% from $80.89 billion in the first three quarters of 2022, according to Refinitiv data.

Typically, banks would sell the debt to investors and pocket an underwriting fee. Elon Musk vs TwitterThe debate, currently a topic of conversation among investment bankers and debt investors, provides a window into the havoc wreaked on Wall Street by Musk’s U-turn last week. Musk, however, conditioned his proposal on his ability to secure debt financing and now has until Oct. 28 to close on the transaction. VARIOUS OPTIONSThe debt financing package is comprised of leveraged loans, which are risky because of the amount of debt the company is taking on, as well as secured and unsecured bonds. In September, banks financing the Citrix buyout undertook a similar restructuring.

Leapmotor raised $800 million, while Onewo raised $733 million from their initial public offerings(IPOs). Lithium battery maker CALB is finalising its $1.28 billion Hong Kong IPO and has priced its shares at HK$38 each, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Leapmotor and Onewo IPOs received a lukewarm response from the city's retail investors who did not take up the full amount of shares offered to them, according to the firms' filings. Leapmotor shares were priced at the low end of its marketed range, while Onewo shares were priced at the mid point of its indicated price range. read more($1 = 7.8498 Hong Kong dollars)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Scott Murdoch; Editing by Himani SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Meet 9 top media bankers transforming the M&A landscape as streaming video reshapes entertainment
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

2022 kicked off with some huge transactions, from AT&T's WarnerMedia spin-off to private equity scooping up content players. Company valuations are set to fall back to earth in 2023, and private equity and strategics are lying in wait. Not surprisingly, WarnerMedia was at the heart of the richest transaction fee waterfall for big banks in 2022. Joshua Grode's Legendary Entertainment, backed by Dalian Wanda and now Apollo Group, which took a stake in the studio in January. There's lots of dry powder still in private equity, Navid Mahmoodzadegan, co-founder and co-president at investment bank Moelis, told Insider.

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