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SOCIÉTÉ GÉNÉRALE and Paribas are emerging as the frontrunners for the mandate to advise on the forthcoming privatisation of Air France and as possible lead managers of a sale of shares in the airline. The French government has this week been reviewing pitches from international investment banks for the deal, which should involve a public stock offering, and most continental European firms are competing for some role in the transaction.

FOLLOWING UBS's success last year in launching a going public bond for GTS, the Swiss firm is preparing to join forces with bookrunner Merrill Lynch to take the group public. GTS, which is based in Richmond in the US, has assets in the Russian tele-coms market and has long been expected to list its shares in the US. The IPO will comprise US and European tranches in a $200m transaction that will result in a dual listing for the stock on Nasdaq and Easdaq. The deal will be launched shortly with pre-marketing to take place over three weeks. Pricing is to be set around February 3.

Financial institutions Bank Austria has been mandated to arrange a £30m two year guarantee facility for Skipton Building Society. The facility refinances a £30m loan due to mature this month.

US dollar straights * Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten

* Argentaria Global Finance Guarantor: Corporación Bancaria de España

* The Finnish government is planning to revitalise its privatisation programme this year and is seeking a lead manager for the sale of shares in IVO Neste, the merged and diversified oil group. Finland is also likely to be one of several European governments to sell telecom stock this year. Finland Telecom is expected to be floated later this year with Merrill Lynch acting as global co-ordinator. The US firm may combine forces with a regional player as the local retail markets are expected to play an important role in the forthcoming flotation.

US agency Fannie Mae (Federal National Mortgage Association) has scored a stunning success with the first in its planned series of jumbo global bonds.

France Arrangers Bankers Trust Co and Citibank are in the process of forming an underwriting group for the Ffr4bn LBO of Groupe Danone, the French food group.

US agency Fannie Mae (Federal National Mortgage Association) has scored a stunning success with the first in its planned series of jumbo global bonds. Investment bankers say the transaction could have a major impact on the international capital market, creating an asset class which attracts a whole new audience of investors that would normally buy only US Treasury bonds.

* Baden-Württemberg L-Finance NV Guarantor: L-Bank

AFTER A protracted syndication process which ended on December 18, Dresdner and Crédit Lyonnais finally closed Gazprom's $3bn pre-export gas receivables deal. Some 25 banks came in at the various participation levels raising $560m, bringing the total number of banks lending to Gazprom to 39. For some members of Dresdner's project finance team, the deal ended with a whimper, rather than the bang which was widely anticipated after the co-arrangers' level closed 50% oversubscribed in early November 1997. "The deal is certainly not a flop," said a member of Dresdner's syndication team in Luxembourg. "But the general syndication has been disappointing, considering we expected about 60 banks to come in at the lower levels.

SAP, the fast growing Heidelberg- based software house, is to seek a listing for its shares in the US -- still a rare venture for German companies, which have traditionally steered clear of equity markets with onerous disclosure requirements. The company was founded only 25 years ago, by a group of IBM engineers, and went public in 1988.