Wind Headwinds

The E12bn leveraged buyout of Wind, Europe’s largest ever, was done at a sweet spot in the credit cycle. But since then, investors have got more edgy. And as a result Wind and its lead banks are having to pay more than they hoped to sell the E9.3bn of debt they issued to finance the deal. So far, the damage doesn’t look too bad. But it could get worse as and when Wind comes to sell a pile of junk debt in the autumn. Some of the extra expense incurred to date comes out of the lead banks’ pocket...