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Nova Ljubljanska banka has returned to the market to secure a Eu50m-Eu60m facility. A small number of banks have been invited to bid for the mandate, which will be awarded in the next two weeks. The borrower last tapped the market in October 2001 with a Eu100m five year term loan. Bank Austria Creditanstalt, ING, Crédit Lyonnais and Mizuho were mandated arrangers for that deal which paid a margin of 30bp over Euribor and amortised in 10 semi-annual repayments. The mandate to arrange the Eu50m five year facility for Slovenia Export Corporation (SID) has been awarded to Bank Austria, Citigroup/SSSB, Sumitomo (bookrunner) and WestLB.

Volkswagen Financial Services, the finance arm of the German car maker, this week tapped the UK ABS market for the first time with a £600m securitisation of auto loan and lease receivables through its UK subsidiary. Lead managed by RBS Financial Markets, the deal was funded through the bank's multi-seller conduit TAGS (A-1/P-1), which issued the first batch of monthly CP for the deal on Tuesday. The transaction is thought to be the largest UK auto receivable securitisation to date.

NIB Capital Bank this week launched the first synthetic securitisation of shipping loans, a $663m transaction lead managed by Merrill Lynch and NIB Capital. Deals backed by transport are rare and this one could pave the way for further shipping companies to use the technique for capital relief. Securitisations of big ticket leases are often hindered by the process of transferring the assets to an SPV. By using a synthetic structure the arranger avoids such complications.

The Australian structured finance market has continued to be active while most of Europe slumbers through August. Bank of Queensland this week launched its ninth domestic residential mortgage securitisation, a A$400m deal lead managed and arranged by Macquarie Bank. Series 2002-2 REDS Trust offered three tranches of notes rated by Fitch and Standard & Poor's. A A$110m triple-A tranche was priced at 26bp over one month bank bills with an average life of 0.8 years. A second triple-A layer came at 36bp with a 3.91 year average life.

German banks threatened by future regulatory changes are looking to third party investors to take the first loss layer of risk in synthetic mortgage transactions. German synthetic securitisations usually incorporate a sub-participation feature, designed to allow the originator to retain the first loss risk without attracting heavy regulatory capital charges.

WestLB's long awaited refinancing of UK water company Mid Kent Holdings is expected to reach the market later this year through Artesian, the water finance vehicle sponsored by RBS Financial Markets. Even as news of the securitisation broke, RBS was completing its second deal through the vehicle, a £35m securitisation of Dee Valley Water, a water-only company based in North Wales (see EuroWeek 765).

Nextel Communications' B/C tranche was seen trading in the 85 1/2 86 1/2 range last week. Traders said the name got a boost from news that Cingular Wireless was talking with VoiceStream about a possible merger. Last week's revival props up Nextel's levels from the low 80s, where the paper was trading as a result of pressure from the WorldCom scandal.

The $7.05 billion acquisition of QwestDex, the directories business of Qwest Communications International, by The Carlyle Group and Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe is set to alter the landscape of the leveraged loan market this fall. The two private equity firms are set to borrow approximately $3.1 billion of senior secured bank debt and are tapping the bond market for an additional $2.5 billion, one banker said. Combine that with other large financings for Burger King and Del Monte Foods, and investors could be deluged with bank debt. Spokespeople for the private equity firms did not return calls.

The $7.05 billion acquisition of QwestDex, the directories business of Qwest Communications International, by The Carlyle Group and Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe is set to alter the landscape of the leveraged loan market this fall. The two private equity firms are set to borrow approximately $3.1 billion of senior secured bank debt and are tapping the bond market for an additional $2.5 billion, one banker said. Combine that with other large financings for Burger King and Del Monte Foods, and investors could be deluged with bank debt. Spokespeople for the private equity firms did not return calls.

SpectraSite Communications has amended its $1.3 billion credit facility to ease covenant pressures as it seeks to restructure a burdensome debt load. The amendment, which required 50% approval from the company's bank group, waives certain potential default events through September of next year and allows the sale of the company's network services and broadcast businesses, according to Tabitha Zane, v.p. of investor relations. "Lazard has been retained as an adviser, although there is no current restructuring proposal out there," Zane said, adding that the Cary, N.C., wireless tower operator simply has too much debt on its books.

UBS Warburg is preparing to lead a debt financing package backing the $300 million acquisition of Nellson Neutraceutical by a partnership between Fremont Partners and existing management. The San Francisco-based sponsor is putting approximately $180 million of equity into the deal, and the leverage will consist entirely of bank financing, according to one banker. The financing is likely to be structured as a $120-130 million institutional term loan complemented by a $10-15 million revolver, but details have not yet been finalized. An official at Fremont and a UBS banker declined to comment.