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Mandated arrangers Barclays Bank (bookrunner), HSBC, HVB Group, Nordea and Svenska Handelsbanken have launched the Eu600m five year facility for M-Real into syndication. Commitments are due by October 22. A well attended bank meeting was held in Helsinki on Wednesday.

Electricité de France (EDF) has asked for bids from its closest relationship banks for a new loan facility. Proceeds will be used to refinance existing bank debt. EdF most recently tapped the loan market with a Eu2bn 364 day revolver in May 2001.

Rating: Aaa/AAA/AAA Amount: $250m

Rating: Aaa/AAA/AAA Amount: $2bn (fungible with $7bn issue launched 11/07/02)

Rating: Aa3/AA/AA- Tranche 1: Eu140m

Arrangers HypoVereinsbank and Mizuho will close the limited retail phase of the Eu695m debt facilities backing the Doughty Hanson led buy-out of Auto Teile Unger on October 15. Most of the deal was soaked up in the first round of syndication which saw five banks - Bank of Scotland, Crédit Lyonnais, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg, Royal Bank of Scotland and WestLB - commit before retail. Some seven non-bank institutions also committed in that phase.

Stuart Gulliver is moving to London to become head of global markets for HSBC as part of a broad management re-styling exercise. Gulliver is one of Asia's best-known names and he has impressively grown HSBC's regional debt, derivative and foreign exchange operations into a competitive force during his eight year stint in Hong Kong. HSBC is now hoping that Gulliver can apply his experience to its weaker European and US operations.

Hermes, the vocal UK fund manager, has weighed into the equity analysts' debate by requesting meetings with its top five brokers to find out what the banks intend to do with their research. The investor is the first to publicly voice concerns over the uncertainty surrounding equity research. Major institutional investors nearly always say that they place little value on sell-side research, as they have their own research teams that they know to be completely independent.

The $350m three year deal for cellular telecommunications company Cosmote has been well received by bankers, despite general market aversion to telecommunications risk. Success of the deal has been put down to the reputation of Cosmote's main shareholders, A2/A rated OTE with 58.98% and A2/A- rated Telenor holding 18%.

Despite pulling its planned Eu1bn and £300m bond issues last week due to volatile market conditions, Hutchison Whampoa went ahead with the launch of its Eu760m equivalent, five year acquisition loan as scheduled on October 8. Mandated arrangers ABN Amro, BayernLB (Hong Kong), Rabobank (Hong Kong) and ING Bank are offering banks the option of committing to a Eu550m portion priced at 40bp over Euribor or a $210m tranche paying 40bp over Libor. Banks can commit to both tranches on a pro rata basis or solely to either portion.

BNP Paribas, CSFB, Bank of Scotland and Royal Bank of Scotland - which are working on the potential buy-out or trade buy of Holmes Place plc - anticipate an announcement of the top bidder for the health clubs operator in the coming fortnight. At the beginning of September Holmes Place recommended a £205m offer from rival peer Cannons, lead contender for the acquisition. That offer represents 200p per Holmes Place share.

Amount: A$750m Rating: S&P/Fitch