Conditions were less than ideal in mid-May, and several other issuers chose to postpone or restructure transactions. Goldman Sachs believed E.ON could come to market—and E.ON put its trust in Goldman Sachs, the only U.S. bookrunner in the offering.

Tapping into its deep investor base, Goldman Sachs laid the groundwork with an extensive marketing effort that reached a large audience of portfolio and asset managers.

The Goldman Sachs sales team then focused on those managers who demonstrated interest in E.ON and appetite for its debut debt issue. The result was a record-breaking €7.3 billion offering, and another step in a long relationship between Europe's largest investor-owned energy service provider and Goldman Sachs.