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Intertek Testing Services, the global testing and services inspection business, heeded the warning of sceptical investors by pricing its £400m IPO last night (Thursday) at the bottom of the range.

Intertek Testing Services, the global testing and services inspection business, heeded the warning of sceptical investors by pricing its £400m IPO last night (Thursday) at the bottom of the range.

Rating: A1/A/A+ Amount: Eu500m (fungible with Eu1bn issue launched 21/11/01)

The recent run of holidays in Europe has meant that replies to the Eu3.675bn acquisition facility for Edipower have been slow. Books were due to close today (Friday), but invited banks have been given an extra week to respond. Despite the slow response, observers are confident that the deal will be well backed in the market.

Arranger Mizuho Corporate Bank has completed a ¥30bn 364 day revolving credit for Hokuriku Electric Power. The arranger pledged ¥10.95bn. Participants are Hokuriku Bank absorbing ¥7.5bn, Hokkoku Bank lending ¥4.5bn, Fukui Bank providing ¥1.8bn, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp taking ¥1.5bn, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi absorbing ¥750m, UFJ Bank, Shinkin Central Bank and Norinchukin Bank pledging ¥600m each, Sumitomo Trust & Banking and First Bank of Toyama contributing ¥450m apiece, and Toyama Bank lending ¥30m.

JPMorgan has been reappointed as arranger and as a dealer off Imperial Tobacco's debt issuance programme. JPMorgan originally arranged the programme in September 1999, but was replaced as the arranger in August 2000 by another member of the dealer panel, Deutsche Bank. JPMorgan was also dropped from the dealer panel in that update. The new update sees JPMorgan return as both the arranger and as a dealer. Deutsche Bank remains on the dealer panel (see MTNWeek's feature article next week that will focus on the importance of arrangerships in the Euro-MTN market). In addition to these changes, the shelf's limit has been upped to euro6 billion ($5.56 billion) from euro2 billion and Salomon Smith Barney has been added as a dealer.

JPMorgan has self-arranged a $1 billion structured Euro-MTN programme. The signing reflects an increasing trend for MTN shelves solely for the issuance of structured notes.

BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and UBS Warburg have won the mandate to arrange and underwrite the Eu2.4bn acquisition facility backing Kingfisher's proposed acquisition of the 45% share of France's Castorama Dubois that it does not already own. The offer is due to be put to minority shareholders providing the offer price is deemed fair by an independent adjudicator. Of the £3.2bn proposed takeover, around £2bn will be financed by a rights offer underwritten by Credit Suisse First Boston, Goldman Sachs and UBS Warburg. The balance will be funded by bank debt.

The one stage syndication for the $25m six month facility for Kazakhstan Development Bank is progressing smoothly and will be closed on May 31. Documentation is being reviewed by the credit committees of the participating banks.

Together with the borrower, arrangers of the Eu2bn debut facility for Aeronautic, Defence and Space Company NV (EADS) are working out final allocations before signing documentation. Syndication has been a blowout success and the borrower is mulling an increase of between Eu500m and Eu1bn.

HSBC and Salomon Smith Barney have been added as dealers to New York Life Funding's $3 billion Euro-MTN programme.

Germany B&L Immobilien, the German property developer, started premarketing for its capital increase this week. Bookbuilding for the deal, which is being led by SG and WestLB Panmure, is expected to begin in the next few days. The share price did not react to the announcement of the offering, closing yesterday (Thursday) evening at Eu22.7.