DB and Barcap Ride the Vene Express

It’s the deal debt bankers love to hate: the annual Venezuela jumbo trade that propels two second tier shops to the top. Last year it was ABN AMRO (with PDVSA), this year’s winners are Deutsche Bank and Barclays, which underwrote a $4bn sovereign issue Venezuela sold to hard currency-starved locals. The bond sale grew 25% from a planned $3bn after getting $9.29bn in orders. The 9.00% of 2023 and 9.25% of 2028 tranches priced last week at 115% of face value. They rocketed Deutsche and Barclays to first and second in DCM, with a combined 26% of the year-to-date LatAm market, Dealogic data shows. The transaction is part of a continuing effort to meet demand for foreign currency and strengthen the VEB in the black market. Only Venezuelan individuals or entities could participate in the sale, aimed mainly at companies in the food, medicine and capital goods sectors. Meanwhile, Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau’s $2.4bn multi-tranche equity follow-on last week propels global coordinator Itau BBA to the top of the LatAm ECM league tables with $1.44bn in credit across four deals. JPMorgan, the joint bookrunner follows in a close second place with $1.2bn across three deals. In M&A, Credit Suisse hogs the lead. (For full details, see League Tables on www.latinfinance.com.)