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UBS Warburg is planning to hire at least one, and possibly several, auto asset-backed securities originators for its New York ABS effort, says Shahid Quraishi, managing director and head of ABS origination. He says he is evaluating whether it makes sense to hire one individual or a team, depending on expected business and profitability for this highly liquid, plain vanilla sector of the ABS market. He adds that he will make that decision early next month. He will then proceed with the hires by the end of next month. The positions would be newly created. All new staffers would report to Quraishi.

A wave of acquisitions in the U.K. water utility sector is expected to lead to at least two whole business securitizations. "It's certainly more excitement than the water sector has ever seen," notes one London-based utilities analyst. It is difficult to say when these deals will come to market, note analysts, because they are so complex and are structured at a tortoise's pace.

Constellation Brands is hitting the retail market next week with an $800 million "B" loan priced at LIBOR plus 23/ 4% and market players are buzzing in anticipation. With a track record for paying down debt promptly and a position as one of the few diversified alcoholic beverage makers in the corporate arena, Constellation is viewed as a stable investment. "They're known to de-lever quickly, post acquisition," said Gil Marchand, senior portfolio manager at Aladdin Capital.

Wyndham International is said to be in the process of amending its bank debt so that the maturity of its revolver and increasing-rate loan pieces, which mature in June 2004, align with the June 2006 maturity of its "B" term loan. The company's bank debt has been softer over the last couple of weeks with the "B" loan quoted in the 77 1/2 79 context and the IRLs quoted in the 80 1/2 82 1/4 range, according to LoanX. No trades could be confirmed as market players are likely hanging on to their current exposure until there is more certainty, said one buysider. At the end of last year, Wyndham had a $156.4 million revolver, a $447.7 million IRL and a $1.183 billion "B" piece. J.P. Morgan leads the bank deal.

Wynn Resorts landed a $189 million furniture, fixtures and equipment loan in conjunction with a $1 billion corporate loan in an effort to secure as much delayed-draw bank loan capital as possible for the development of its Le Reve resort and casino. Matt Maddox, v.p. of investor relations and treasurer for Wynn Resorts, explained that the FFE loan, with a seven-year term and LIBOR plus 4% pricing, can be drawn down as needed. In addition, the FFE loan, led by Bank of America, also attracted new investors such as GE Capital, GMAC and CIT Group into the lending group.

Huntsman International has received an amendment that would allow the company to apply any proceeds from the issuance of new bonds directly to amortization payments due on the "A" term loan, rather than use the proceeds to pay down each of the credit's tranches on a pro rata basis. Given the recent amendment some investors believe that the company will pursue a bond deal in the near future. Still, others think that the provision was put in under more long-term consideration.

J.P. Morgan and General Re-New England Asset Management are refinancing a collateralized loan obligation called KZH-Pondview as part of a move to migrate synthetic market value hybrid deals away from the Chase Secured Loan Trust (CSLT) program. Gen-Re, the manager of KZH wants a more flexible vehicle to manage assets. Once KZH is refinanced, Gen-Re plans to sell a significant portion of the original assets and purchase new loans within a deal called Stonewell CLO I, explained Michael Gerity, a director with Fitch Ratings. Stonewell will be a cash-flow arbitrage deal, underwritten by J.P. Morgan. Officials at Gen Re and J.P. Morgan declined comment.

Levels for The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. $800 million term loan due 2004 have fallen from the mid 90s into the 88-90 range since the beginning of this year and lenders are finding the restrictive assignment language prohibitive. With a backdrop of banks that have been burned by bad loans, lenders are concerned about the lack of liquidity. "Trades have gotten broken; the borrower wouldn't sign off on the assignments," said a dealer.

Deutsche Bank and Bank One were on their way to filling a $300 million "B" loan for Lennar Corp. last week. The loan will refinance Miami-based Lennar's existing $390 million senior secured "B" piece, locking in a lower rate of LIBOR plus 2%, compared to the previous rate of LIBOR plus 21/ 2%, according to a banker familiar with the credit. Retail syndication of the deal launched Feb. 10. Lennar's debt was upgraded last month by Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's, boosting the home-building company to investment-grade status at BBB-/Baa3. Deutsche Bank and Bank One officials declined to comment.

RBS Greenwich Capital has hired Philip Kearns from Morgan Stanley to head up the new position of volatility trading at the firm, according to Doug Greenig, the firm's co-head of derivatives and agency mortgage-backed securities. Kearns did not return a phone call seeking comment. At RBS GCM, Kearns will be a managing director, the same title he held at Morgan Stanley. At RBS GCM, Kearns will report to Greenig and derivatives group co-head Ed Orenstein.

Republic National Cabinet Corp. (RNCC) has obtained a new credit facility, which backs the company's buyout by equity sponsor the Cypress Group. The play for RNCC comes as the sponsor increases its focus on the building products sector, a growing part of which is the cabinet business, explained David Spalding, v.p. and chair of the Cypress Group. The cabinet business is very fragmented, stated Spalding. "There clearly are ample properties out there," he noted, adding that there are currently no other specific targets.