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Credit Suisse First Boston, Bank of Montreal, andTD Securities have reportedly landed the leads on a $600 million credit for Nextel Partners after bids went out on the loan early this week. Market sources said the company selected the trio to arrange a $600 million credit that will replace its existing $425 million deal. The old credit comprises a pro rata piece priced at LIBOR plus 4 1/4 % and an institutional tranche priced at LIBOR plus 4 3/4 %. A banker said price talk is LIBOR plus 3 1/4 % on the pro rata and LIBOR plus 3 3/4 % on the term loan. Officials at CSFB would not comment on the structure of the deal.

More than $20 million of Pacific Gas & Electric's paper traded in the mid- to high 80s as the state of California tries to pull the beleaguered utility away from bankruptcy. Dealers said this is one of the first trades of the bank debt in a while. Deutsche Bank was among those actively handling the paper. A market watcher observed, "There's been a lot of swaps, some default swaps, so there's a lot of trading." Meanwhile, the state has committed $10 billion to buy power for the companies' customers. "They seem to be trying to deal with that situation," a dealer said.

Owens Illinois traded in the 90s range in the wake of a favorable bank meeting. The size of the piece could not be determined by press time, but one market player who attended a bank meeting early last week says the company is making progress, despite any asbestos ties. "I'm hearing positive things about them," he said, noting that the company is offering the banks collateral. "Are they completely out of the water? No. But the guys that are in that deal are going to be in a lot better. It's a good company with solid cash flow. It's well-run with a good management team," he said. "And there are no current asbestos issues, just liabilities from the 1950s hanging over the company's head." Two weeks ago the company's bank debt was trading up to the mid-80s.

The speed with which investors have dived into a new type of retail offering has surprised institutional investors, but it's also got them eyeing the possibility it may soak up excess supply and tighten spreads. In the last four weeks, Bank of America Capital Management has sold $600 million of the new InterNotes, part of a $3 billion shelf, and Household International is also planning a $1 billion issue. "I'm really surprised they've been able to place this much paper so quickly," says Robert Hickey, head of fixed income for Van Kampen Investments in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.

SG Cowen is releasing two high-yield bond analysts as part of a move to end efforts to underwrite high-yield credits in the aerospace, consumer products and energy sectors. A senior official in New York says the action is being taken because the firm has not been able to develop high-yield bond issuance from its existing commercial lending relationships in these sectors. The two set to leave are Paul Shaum, the head of the six-person junk research team, who covers aerospace and consumer products companies, and Gloria Holzman, who covers energy. The senior official says that as part of this effort, the firm will unwind its loan portfolio in these sectors, which was valued at approximately $1 billion.

Only markets, not regulators can determine what capital a bank should hold, the Shadow Financial Regulatory Committee said last week, and it accused bank regulators of going down a path toward creating increasingly complicated capital formulas that are counter-productive. The current specific target of the Shadow Committee's criticism was the Basle Committee's revised capital accord proposal, issued in January, which Shadow member Charles Calomiris termed "a disaster."

Ettore "Reno" Bianchi has left Credit Suisse First Boston, where he was the senior transportation research analyst, and is joining Salomon Smith Barney. Salomon has been looking for an analyst to cover enhanced equipment trust certificates for some time, says an industry official, adding that the bank has been especially active in underwriting EETCs and wants to bulk up its coverage. Salomon was lead manager most recently of US Airways' $458 million EETC in January. Bianchi, who is one of a handful of analysts on the Street that covers the EETC market, confirms his departure from CSFB, declining further comment. Calls to CSFB and Salomon were not returned.

Salomon Smith Barney and Lehman Brothers last week snatched lead arranger roles on a $950 million add-on deal for Tulsa, Okla.-based Williams Communications, topping existing leadsBank of America and J.P. Morgan Chase. Some market sources said SSB and Lehman edged the two commercial banks with the promise of better underwriting execution on future securities deals. Others, however, say they won it the old fashioned way: they pitched cheap pricing.

The downshift in ONI Systems stock, on the back of a general decline in the technology and telecom sector in the past few weeks, has created an investment window for the company's busted convertible bonds, argues Venu Krishna, research analyst at Salomon Smith Barney in New York. But some portfolio managers are having a hard time swallowing this advice, fearful that the market has farther to fall before the bottom is reached. "The paper could go still lower, particularly in this distressed market where odd things can happen," says a buyside portfolio manager..

Stillwater Mining Company signed its $250 million credit facility last week to replace the company's $175 million credit. James Sabala, cfo, said the company was pleased with TD Securities' work as lead arranger and with the terms the company was able to secure. Pricing did flex up on the deal. "TD brought the deal to my attention and they've always been a strong supporter of our business," said Sabala. He declined to comment on the pricing change or whether the deal was oversubscribed. "The deal got done on the terms we wanted, which speaks for itself," Sabala said.

Investor appetite for SpectraSite Holding's credit facility more than doubled the amount from $500 million to $1.3 billion. The amended facility was signed this month, adding about 20 banks to the syndicate. A total of 50 banks are in the amended credit, said Steven Lilly, cfo. "We were quite pleased with the strong investor interest," he said. "The agents were very supportive, and the hold levels went down." SpectraSite, based in Cary, N.C., is one of the largest tower operators in the country. The company is also a leading provider of outsourced network services to the wireless communications and broadcast industries in the U.S. and Canada. The original $500 million facility was to finance the acquisition of 2,000 Nextel towers. The additional financing is for the acquisition of 3,900 towers of SBC Communications.