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The board of Charter European Trust, the pan-European investment trust, scored an impressive and unexpected victory at the end of last week when it managed to foil Henderson Global Investor's attempted takeover bid. Henderson and Charter European had been locked in battle for the last two months over control of the £420m trust. Henderson had made an aggressive bid to take over management of Charter European from Dresdner RCM.

REpower, the German wind turbine manufacturer, is preparing to launch its IPO on the Neuer Markt this month in what is set to be the first real test of investor confidence in a growth stock this year. With investors still reeling from the big losses on the Neuer Markt over the last two years, Citigroup/SSSB, which is leading the deal, will open the books for the issue on March 12 with trepidation. The new shares will start trading on March 26.

Fund managers are being advised to safeguard their income streams and to tackle costs harder, as a survey from PricewaterhouseCoopers revealed this week that the revenue earned by the top UK firms fell last year by 5.5%, the first drop in five years. The interim survey covered 18 firms with a total of £940bn of assets under management, reviewing their responses for 2001. It found that fund managers are struggling to get to grips with the cost growth of recent years. The survey predicted that amid increased uncertainty and volatility, fund managers must find new ways to improve profitability. "Fund managers may wish to develop strategies around outsourcing, defined contribution pensions and changing distribution channels," said Ian Hards, a partner at PwC Consulting.

Croatia Joint mandated arrangers Mizuho (Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank) and Zagrebacka banka are preparing to launch a $100m syndicated medium term loan for Industrija Nafte (INA).

* Aareal Bank AG Rating: A+ (Fitch)

EuroWeek hears that that no fewer than four banks have won the mandate for the Republic of Romania's minimum Eu500m 10 year Eurobond. The four banks named are Deutsche Bank, ING, JP Morgan and Citigroup/SSSB. "I have heard the same rumour from three different sources," said one banker yesterday afternoon (Thursday). "I also heard they bid fees down to 27.5 cents. Nobody would go lower than that, so I guess there was not much else to separate the four banks."

Gazprom plans to borrow Rb175.5bn ($5.7bn) this year, according to the local newspaper Vedomosti, which was reporting on the company's board of directors' meeting. The plan would represent a considerable one-off spike in borrowing, up $40m on last year, and well above the company's $2.5bn cap on borrowing for 2003.

The European Investment Bank has issued the longest dated bond in the Polish domestic market, a Z275m 15 year zero coupon via Morgan Stanley that is believed to have been sold to one unidentified domestic account. "This issue was driven partly by the investor's need for assets with duration, and partly by the issuer's desire for a deal that would strengthen its visibility and presence," said Filippo Cipriani of Morgan Stanley.