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Deutsche Bank is putting the final touches on a $700 million collateralized fund obligation backed by its own private equity portfolio, says a banker on the deal. Called DB Capital, the deal is being structured and lead-managed by Deutsche Bank's London-based collateralized debt obligation team. The deal is thought to be the largest CFO to date and the first to be sponsored by a bank.

Oaktree Capital Management recently completed the finishing touches on a nearly $1.34 billion distressed debt fund, and will begin the process of investing the funds in a market that has no shortage of distressed paper, according to BW sister publication Loan Market Week. The fund will be called OCM Opportunities Fund IVb. The completion of the new fund comes hard on the heels of the $2.1 billion OCM Opportunity Fund IV, which closed last December. "Fund IV closed quickly in 2001 with Oaktree's existing client base. Fund IVb, intended mostly for new clients, followed in 2002," said Howard Marks, chairman of the Los Angeles-based firm.

The bank debt of Cablevision Systems traded in the high 80s last week after a spate of positive news caused the paper to rally. There also was a rumor that the paper changed hands around the 90 level, but a trade at that level could not be confirmed.

General Cable has amended its secured credit facility to stave off covenant violations due to lower earnings and to increase flexibility in a tough environment, according to Christopher Virgulak, cfo. Virgulak explained that communications sales make up one-third of the wire and cable manufacturer's business, and the present downturn has left it in danger of violating leverage covenants.

Gray Television was able to secure slightly cheaper pricing for a new $450 million credit facility backing its acquisition of Stations Holding. Jim Ryan, cfo, said the Atlanta company was able to receive more favorable pricing because the acquisition of the 15 network-affiliated television stations--now known as Gray MidAmerica Television--increased and improved Gray Television's operating base, thereby enhancing its overall credit quality.

The secondary market continued to improve, and held up well even through Thursday's equity sell-off. A $450 million issue from Owens-Brockway was well-received, trading up to 101. Autos, airlines, commodity chemicals and homebuilding were all up on the week. Here is other action.

High-yield sell-side technology analysts say it may be time for investors to bank some of the money they have made in the sector over the last few weeks, as revenues remain weak despite the recent bullish run of many bonds in the sector. Ziki Slav, analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein Grantchester, says he is likely to downgrade issues such as the Amkor 9.25% senior notes of '06 from "buy" to "hold". The issue was trading at 67 on October 7 when he put a buy on the name, and had climbed to 85 as of last Tuesday.

Asbestos names such as Federal-Mogul, Owens Corning and USG Corporation ticked up roughly three points each last week after Armstrong Holdings announced that it had gained the support of its asbestos personal injury claimants committee for its reorganization plan. Traders said that small pieces of Federal-Mogul traded in the 58-59 context, Owens Corning moved in the 57-58 1/2 range and USG was offered at 46, but no trades could be confirmed. There also have been recent reports that suggest asbestos liability will be limited, noted one dealer.

FCE Bank, Ford Motor Co.'s European financing arm, will come to market with another securitization from its Globaldrive program. The deal should total E500-750 million and is scheduled to be priced within the next two weeks. The deal, to be co-lead managed by ABN AMRO and Deutsche Bank, will be Ford's second securitization of euro receivables this year. A syndicate banker on the deal says the exact deal size is still being determined, declining further comment. Ford's last deal weighed in at E800 million and was priced in March at 19 basis points over one-month Euribor. However, given the soft nature of the European asset-backed market, bankers and analysts doubt the new issue will be priced as tightly.

Deutsche Bank, Bank of America, Lehman Brothers, BANK ONE and BNP Paribas have received commitments from senior managing agents for the $1.4 billion credit backing Ball Corp.'s $880 million acquisition of German container manufacturer Schmalbach-Lubeca, according to a banker familiar with the deal. Investors already have signed on to $250 million of the $350 million "B" term loan, and the rest of the tranches have been received positively as well, the banker said. Senior lenders contributing $50 million to the pro-rata portion received an upfront fee of 75 basis points. Bankers on the deal either declined to comment or could not be reached by press time.

Bank of America is providing a $125 million credit facility to help back DigitalNet's $223 million acquisition of Getronics Government Solutions. "The feedback on the credit has been extremely positive," said Craig Bondy, v.p. at GTCR Golder Rauner, the private equity firm sponsoring the deal. "I think it has a lot of momentum." A banker familiar with the facility agreed, adding that the credit was shaping up well, most likely as a club deal. B of A officials declined to comment.

GSC Partners Europe, a private investment firm specializing in debt, is developing a European collateralized debt obligation business and plans to launch its debut deal by the end of the first quarter. Peter Firth, director, says the first deal will be a E350 million collateralization of senior loans and the firm has already tapped Lehman Brothers as an underwriter. GSC Partners already has a E1.1 billion mezzanine debt fund and is getting into CDOs to expand its European business by capitalizing on its expertise in loan investing. GSC Partners Europe is the London-based subsidiary of Florham Park, N.J.-based GSC Partners, which manages roughly $6 billion.