Preaching to the converted

October 01, 1998

It is rare that the interests of investors and issuers coincide exactly, and when they do they have generally been forced to. That is what has happened in the European convertible market. Right now, this halfway-house hybrid does make sense as a defensive outperformer for investors, and a cheap, flexible funding tool for corporates and privatizing governments. Simon Brady reports.

Bookrunners of convertible Eurobond issues, January-September 1998
		Amount ($m)	No. issues	Share (%)
1	Warburg Dillon Read	10,414	23	43.8
2	Goldman Sachs	2,342	6	9.8
3	Morgan Stanley	1,562	8	6.6
4	Deutsche Bank	1,325	3	5.6
5	Merrill Lynch	1,250	8	5.3
6	Credit Suisse First Boston	1,035	5	4.3
7	Paribas	908	2	3.8
8	HSBC	895	3	3.8
9	ABN Amro	705	4	3.0
10	Dresdner Kleinwort Benson	564	2	2.4