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Life Investment Management's debut cash flow collateralized loan obligation. The approximately $350 million deal, called NYLIM Flatiron CLO 2003-1, is said to be about 80% ramped up, according to a source. Calls to bankers at Goldman and a NYLIM portfolio manager were not returned. NYLIM is a subsidiary of New York Life Insurance Co., which has $160 billion in assets under management. The firm has more than $1.1 billion in loan assets, according to Standard & Poor's. The equity slice of the deal is $36.75 million.

HealthSouth bank debt shot up out of the high 70s into the 88-90 range after the company hosted a conference call last Monday to update its stakeholders on the state of its business. Traders said small pieces of the name changed hands within that context and one suggested that the bank debt could be worth par. "The market seems to be pretty bullish," said one dealer, regarding HealthSouth's debt.

The $475 million "B" loan backing the acquisition of school yearbook and class ring-maker Jostens had already gained about $1.2 billion in commitments as of late last week, according to bankers. The tranche is a part of a $650 million facility being used to partially finance the $1.2 billion acquisition. Credit Suisse First Boston and Deutsche Bank are the lead arrangers shopping the credit. Ring Acquisition Corp.--a newly formed company controlled and managed byCSFB Private Equity and its private equity fund DLJ Merchant Banking III LP--is acquiring Jostens from Investcorp, MidOcean Partners, First Union Leveraged Capital and Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance (LMW, 6/23).

Softer sales paired with anticipated higher debt levels have led Fitch Ratings to lower Levi Strauss & Co.'s secured bank facility rating to BB- from BB. The ratings outlook is negative. Levi Strauss had $368 million in bank debt outstanding as of May 25. The ratings reflect that while the company originally expected sales for fiscal 2003 to grow 2-5%, sales are now expected to be flat due to weak consumer spending, according to Fitch. Also, Levi Strauss' primary means of distribution, the department store channel, has been consistently weak in 2003 as consumers diversify their shopping patterns.

Marc Baum is the chief operating officer for The Seaport Group, a research and relationship-driven brokerage boutique dedicated to stressed and distressed bonds, bank debt, trade claims and equities. In the last year, the firm has used a series of hires to build up its efforts in dealing with off-the-run bank loans and large loan sales, trade claims and the equity of reorganized companies.

Loan market players are hoping the increase in merger and acquisition activity over past weeks will continue to intensify and stir up a significant amount of much needed new bank credits. But while some sense the M&A pot is brewing up all sorts of deals, others wonder if many of the big transactions will deliver significant loan supply. Some of the deals are hostile, so they have "less than a 50/50 chance of being completed," one investor noted.

Mirant Corp.'s bank debt continued to trade actively last week as the debt dropped and then bounced back some by week's end. The debt sank into the 60s with the maturity on its $1.125 billion revolver looming and the company still trying to complete its debt overhaul plan. But the bank debt did regain some ground late in the week as the company amended the package that will be given to lenders for their cooperation in the restructuring plan.

The $250 million "B" loan for Oriental Trading oversubscribed ahead of the bank meeting last Wednesday, with more than $260 million in hold-level commitments coming into the official launch and up to $350 million in tickets by press time, a banker said. Sole bookrunner BNP Paribas is shopping the $290 million recapitalization credit for the direct marketer of novelties, toys, party supplies and other related products. The deal will go toward refinancing holding company OTC Holdings' preferred stock, noted Anthony Choe, a director at Oriental Trading and a principal at the company's leading private equity sponsor, Brentwood Associates.

Owens Corning's bank debt continued to see-saw this week on pending asbestos legislation. Last Tuesday morning, the paper was quoted in the 71-73 range and then traded up to the 75-77 context. One dealer explained that later in the day the price of the loan had settled somewhat into the 74-76 range after investors believed the market had run up too high. Toward week's end, the market for Owens Corning bank debt slipped again into the 69-71 context after the Senate Judiciary Committee failed to reach an agreement on certain aspects of the bill. "This is some serious money here," said one dealer, explaining why the price for the loan was so volatile in the wake of the negotiations. Market players had anticipated that the Senate Judiciary Committee would have recommended the bill to the full Senate last Thursday.

RBC Capital Markets has snared two pros for its expanding leveraged finance group. Bill Haffner has joined from Morgan Stanley's sponsored coverage group to be a managing director. Haffner, who had spent his entire career at Morgan Stanley, started at RBC last week. Meanwhile, Jeffrey Kelly started two weeks ago with RBC as a managing director, having left J.P. Morgan, where he spent 15 years in its leveraged finance group.

Westfield Trust underlined its reputation as the Australian bond market's favourite property trust when it launched a A$500m three tranche issue yesterday (Thursday).

AUSTRALIA