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Credit Suisse First Boston was on its way to oversubscription for its Northwestern Corp. $390 million "B" term loan only one day after launching it to investors. The credit hit the market last Thursday with investor-friendly pricing, as another utility company surfaced to refinance debt. The fully underwritten credit was consumed by institutional lenders, said a banker familiar with the deal. He added that investors also liked the fact that the line was secured by first-mortgage bonds. The loan carries a LIBOR plus 51/ 2% coupon, with a 3% LIBOR floor. The high pricing emulates other utility sector credits that hit the market this quarter. CenterPoint Energy's $1.3 billion Berkshire Hathaway and CSFB-led deal priced at LIBOR plus 93/ 4% with a 3% LIBOR floor, while CSFB and TD Securities filled Tucson Electric Power's $200 million "B" piece soon after at LIBOR plus 51/ 2% with a 1% upfront fee (LMW 11/18).

Goldman Sachs effectively shut down syndication of Sanmina-SCI Corp.'s $275 million "B" piece last Wednesday after the credit was three times oversubscribed to a group of more than 50 investors. The credit was upsized from $250 million and pricing landed at LIBOR plus 4%, said a banker familiar with the deal. Pricing was initially targeted at LIBOR plus 4-4 1Ž4 %. The banker explained that the loan's borrowing base limited the credit's expansion, leading to the increase of only 10%. Investors were keen on the San Jose, Calif.-based company's credit security package, but allocations were still cut back because of the lid on capacity, he noted. Some institutional investors were initially throwing in bids for 10% or more of the credit (LMW, 12/16). A Goldman official declined to comment.

J.P. Morgan Securities reorganized its structured credit operation in New York following last Wednesday's resignation of group chief Romita Shetty (www.bondweek.com), according to BW sister publication Derivatives Week. Officials familiar with the firm's plans said Maleyne Syracuse, managing director, client management, will take over Shetty's responsibilities in origination and structuring, while Andrew Palmer, managing director, North American credit derivatives, will head the distribution effort. Syracuse and Palmer both report into Andrew Feldstein, managing director and head of credit portfolio management. A rival credit derivatives head said it was surprising that Syracuse would move into origination given her background in sales. Syracuse, Palmer and Feldstein did not return calls by press time last Thursday.

Kforce has completed a $100 million credit facility and added two new banks to its syndicate in the process. The Tampa, Fla.-based specialty staffing firm brought on board CIT Group and PNC Bank to its Bank of America-led credit, said William Sanders, chief operating officer and cfo of Kforce. "Both knew the industry and we were impressed," Sanders said of the two new banks. Beyond receiving an improved credit agreement, Kforce was interested in finding flexible financial partners to aid the company as the staffing industry changes. "As time and opportunity warrants it, we will do other business with the new banks," Sanders also said, noting that B of A presently offers treasury services to the company. Fleet Capital continues to be a member of the syndicate, he added.

Lehman Brothers flexed up pricing last Monday for the $350 million credit backing the buyout of US Investigations Services (USIS). A banker stated that the line filled a few days later, but this could not be confirmed by press time. The facility was half subscribed just before the pricing increase, according to another banker familiar with the deal. The $225 million "B" loan was flexed up to LIBOR plus 4% from LIBOR plus 33Ž 4%, while pricing on the pro rata, consisting of a $75 million "A" loan and $50 million revolver, was upped to LIBOR plus 31Ž 2% from LIBOR plus 31Ž 4%. The institutional piece also has a 1% original issue discount increased from 1/4%, the banker added. A Lehman official declined to comment.

Global Crossing's debt ticked up last week after the company received court approval for its plan to emerge from bankruptcy. Traders said the name changed hands as high as 19 early last week and by week's end the company's "B" piece was quoted in the 19-20 range. The name has been moving up from the mid-teens over the last month. Global Crossing plans to emerge from bankruptcy in early 2003. Calls to Dan Cohrs, cfo, were referred to a spokeswoman, who referred questions to court documents and releases.

Hayes Lemmerz International's bank debt bumped up a few points after the company filed its plan of reorganization last week. A piece of the company's bank debt traded in the 82 context. There was a rumor that paper traded as high as 84-86, but several dealers said that those levels were too high.

High-yield origination officials on the sell-side see a number of favorable factors for new deal supply next year, predicting roughly $80 billion in new paper. The final tally for this year is expected to be approximately $57 billion. The last two weeks have been red hot, bringing $5.7 billion--one-tenth of the year's entire supply.

Korea Western Power (KWP) found the recent deluge of Korean bond issuance and the proximity of Christmas to be a painful combination when it launched a $150m five year Eurobond last Friday. As a result of the thin investor interest, joint bookrunners ABN Amro and Lehman Brothers had to widen the deal's spread from 140bp-145bp over Treasuries to a launch level of 165bp over to get the issue away.

RHB Bank tottered back into the market to re-launch its postponed $150m lower tier two bond issue this week, but it was forced to reduce the size and widen the pricing. With time fast running out before the end of the year, RHB added UBS Warburg to the ticket alongside ABN Amro, and cut the deal size from $200m.

AUSTRALIA Westpac Banking Corp this week securitised its entire hold-to-maturity structured products portfolio with a Eu1.25bn equivalent synthetic balance sheet CDO, led by JP Morgan.

Korea Moody's raised the outlook on a set of Korean issuers this week, following its decision in November to revise the outlook on the Republic of Korea's A3 rating to positive from stable.