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GenTek's bank debt was fairly active last week with the company's pro rata trading in the 56-57 context and its term loan moving in the 53-55 range. "It felt like there were better buyers over the last couple of days," noted one trader. The company has recently obtained a $60 million debtor-in-possession facility. It filed for bankruptcy in October after it failed to obtain an amendment to its senior credit facility.

Thomas Hendrick, a managing director and par trader at Credit Suisse First Boston who came to the bank in its acquisition of Donaldson, Lufkin, & Jenrette, was set to leave the firm last week along with Nancy Slott, a director in loan capital markets. CSFB officials said both are retiring voluntarily and were not offered any type of early retirement deal. Additionally, Kathy O'Brien, a managing director in par loan sales, is taking a one-year leave of absence. All three reported to Don Pollard and Bruce Ling, both managing directors and global co-heads of CSFB's syndicated loan group.

J.P. Morgan is planning to refinance a $550 million TCW Group collateralized loan obligation as the bank continues to move deals away from the now-discontinued Chase Secured Loan Trust (CSLT) program into cash-flow structures. CSLT is a synthetic market-value structure whereby noteholders provide credit protection to J.P. Morgan through a total rate of return swap. The bank holds the loans on its book, but first loss investors want to convert to cash-flow structures in order to stabilize their investments, said a source. New notes will be issued to refinance the existing TCW deal, said the source. The name of the existing deal could not be determined.

J.P. Morgan and FleetBoston Financial completed a $250 million credit last week for National Mentor, flexing the pricing by 75 basis points in order to get the job done. The deal launched on Feb. 10, but struggled through syndication, as concerns about the company's dependence on state and federal funding kept investors back (LMW, 3/10).

Kevin Latimer, a director in loan sales at Deutsche Bank, resigned last week to begin working for UBS Warburg's bank loan group. Latimer will also serve as a director of loan sales for UBS reporting to Brendan Dillon, managing director and head of loan sales at the firm.

Charter Communications bank debt traded as high as 85 5/8 86 1/2 from the 84-85 context on the rumor that the banks were going to be able to negotiate a better position for their exposure to the company. The buzz suggested that due to liquidity concerns the lenders were going to try to force the company to miss April 1 bond interest payments totaling $171.6 million.

UBS Warburg, Goldman Sachs and CIT Group are set to lead International Steel Group's (ISG) $1 billion bank deal backing its $1.5 billion acquisition of Bethlehem Steel. The asset-based credit includes a $400 million "B" piece, a $300 million "A" loan and a $300 million revolver, according to a banker familiar with the deal. He said pricing on the "B" will fall in the range of LIBOR plus 31/4-33/ 4%, while the pro rata should price between LIBOR plus 23/4% and 31/4%. Final ratings, expected between B and BB, will determine the exact pricing, he added. The deal should launch at the end of March or early April, the banker noted. A UBS official declined to comment, while Goldman and CIT bankers did not return calls.

Lennar Corp. has remade its $390 million "B" piece by reducing the amount to $300 million, extending the maturity and locking in one of the lowest interest rates ever for an institutional tranche. The company was opportunistic in its bid to revamp the facility, looking for the right window in terms of market pricing, said Waynewright Malcolm, Lennar v.p. and treasurer.

Anne Greven joined Rabobank International last Monday as an executive director working with par loan sales. Greven reportedly left Morgan Stanley where she was a v.p. in the firm's par loan sales group a few weeks ago to pursue the new position.

Rabobank International has started the equity marketing for its first collateralized loan obligation, with E.A. Kratzman, formerly one of three co-founders and head of portfolio management for Institutional Debt Management, at the helm. Chiron CDO I, will be an approximately $300 million CLO with Credit Suisse First Boston acting as underwriter. The notes are expected to price by the end of the second quarter, said Kratzman, head of CLO management for Rabobank. "CSFB was picked for its historic close relationship with Rabobank and its presence in the leveraged loan market," he added.

AUSTRALASIA Australia

Hutchison Communications ignored the difficult conditions in the Asian debt market to place an A$800m five year floating rate note (FRN) issue on Wednesday. HSBC sole led the transaction, which was cushioned from the volatility by a guarantee from parent company Hutchison Whampoa.