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Banks active in the UK syndicated loan market are eagerly awaiting the outcome of the bidding war for Safeway. If one of the UK bidders - Wm Morrison or J Sainsbury - win the prized asset then the debt facility which backs the bids will be syndicated in Europe. And with event-driven risk so scarce , because of lacklustre global M&A, lending banks will feast on the loan when it comes to market. Goldman Sachs and UBS Warburg, which are advising J Sainsbury in its proposed bid for Safeway, have agreed to jointly underwrite the debt facility which will support the cash portion of its roughly £3.2bn cash and share offer. Sainsbury's offer tops Wm Morrison's £2.9bn all-share bid.

Around 30 institutions, invited to commit to the Eu6bn revolver for Aa3/AA/AAA rated Electricité de France (EdF), attended a bank meeting hosted by the company on the Champs Elysées in Paris yesterday (Thursday). EdF's CFO gave a slick presentation on the utility's future business strategy. Although it is early days in syndication of the loan, the market has responded positively to the jumbo loan for one of France's premium names.

Rating: Aaa/AAA Amount: $5bn

UK gaming group Gala is considering a partial float, which could emerge as one of the few IPOs to be launched this year. Gala, which is majority owned by Credit Suisse First Boston Private Equity, is examining a number of possibilities, which include an IPO. The group is considering four bids from private equity groups including BC Partners, KKR, Permira and a joint bid from Candover and Cinven.

Guarantor: Gallaher Ltd Rating: Baa3/BBB

Bank of America, CSFB and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein have been mandated to arrange a $1.5bn refinancing for medical equipment company Fresenius. Dresdner is hosting a bank meeting to be held in Frankfurt today (Friday). Bank of America will host a bank meeting in New York on Tuesday.

Guarantor: General Motors Acceptance Corp Rating: A2/BBB/A-

Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein has been mandated by Goldman Sachs Mezzanine Partners to arrange a $200m secured loan.

Goldman Sachs' announcement on Wednesday that it had struck a deal with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) whereby Goldman will invest in SMFG preferred stock in exchange for credit loss protection from the Japanese institution will not strengthen the US investment bank's position in the global syndicated loan market, say bankers. The loan loss protection is for unfunded commitments in the form of bilateral standby lines or bilateral back-up facilities to investment grade companies. It will not cover syndicated loans and will not cover funded commitments.

Mandated lead arrangers of the £1.4bn one year acquisition facility for GUS, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland, have brought seven banks into the deal. The loan will not be further syndicated and will largely be taken out by a bond to be issued imminently.

Guarantor: Hamburgische Landesbank Girozentrale Rating: Aa1/AA/AAA

Guarantor: Bank of Scotland Rating: Aa2/AA