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Cantor Fitzgerald has poached a team of seven risk arbitrage professionals, three traders and four sales staffers, from Lehman Brothers in New York to kick start a risk arbitrage desk. Joseph Gabor, managing director and head of the team, which joined Monday declined comment. Tom Ryan, spokesman at Cantor in New York, confirmed the hires but declined further comment. It could not be determined how risk arbitrage will fit with CantorÕs brokerage business.

Goldman Sachs has reportedly let go Zar Amrolia, managing director and co-head of the firm's corporate derivatives marketing group in London. Amrolia was believed to have been told on Friday that he no longer had a job at Goldman, according to an individual familiar with the matter. Amrolia did not return a message left on his cell phone. Rebecca Nelson, spokeswoman in London, did not return calls by press time.

Merrill Lynch has hired Chris Ricciardi, head of U.S. CDO origination at Credit Suisse First Boston in New York, to head the firm's global CDO structuring and origination business. Merrill reportedly hired Ricciardi because Mac Taylor, managing director and head of global structured products in New York, will take control of more areas of the firm and wants to add another layer of management for the day-to-day running of the CDO business, according to a Merrill insider.

Bank of America and Bear Stearns today launched syndication of a $225 million credit for Pinnacle Entertainment. The proceeds will finance the gaming company's construction and development of a hotel and casino resort in Lake Charles, La. The debt package includes a five-year, $125 million term loan and a four-year, $100 million revolver. Bankers familiar with the deal would not indicate pricing, but one banker noted that it would be in line with Pinnacle's BB rating. He added that total leverage would start at 5.8 times, with senior leverage below two times for the life of the facility. B of A and Bear Stearns officials declined to comment.

Microcell Telecommunications' bank debt levels have retreated to the low 70s after investor demand ran the paper up into the 77-79 context two weeks ago. Market players said there are lenders looking to sell, but buyers of the paper have filled up on their capacity for the name. No trades could be confirmed. J.P. Morgan is the lead on Microcell's bank debt.

UBS Warburg is preparing to launch syndication of a $450 million credit backing Transmontaigne's acquisition of the Florida petroleum operations from El Paso Corp. The new facility consists of a three-year, $250 million revolver and a three-year, $200 million term loan, which increases the company's existing credit line by $150 million. FleetBoston Financial led the previous facility. A banker familiar with the new deal said that it is still too early to determine pricing, but that the deal would be syndicated in the next few weeks. A UBS official declined to comment.

DDJ Capital, a Wellesley, Mass.-based distressed debt investor, is believed to have bought up the majority the SLI's bank debt at about 15. The firm is estimated to have bought about $200 million worth of paper, with the trades rumored to have been brokered by FleetBoston Financial, the lead bank on the credit. SLI is currently wading through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy process and has $365 million in pre-petition bank debt. Judy Mencher, co-founder and principal of DDJ, referred calls to a spokeswoman, who cited firm policy of not commenting on their investments or strategies. Calls to Fleet officials and Robert Mancini, SLI cfo, were not returned.

The Royal Bank of Scotland has been mandated to lead a credit backing equity sponsor American Securities Capital Partners and company management in the buyout of Oreck Corporation. A banker familiar with the deal said the full details of the credit have not been determined. But he noted the deal is estimated to comprise approximately $140 million of funded financing with a revolver. RBS is out to possible co-leads on the deal, he added, noting that a retail launch will soon follow. The vacuum cleaner company deal is expected to be leveraged just over three times debt-to-EBITDA, all senior. New Orleans-based Oreck sells cleaning equipment and machines throughout North America, South America, Europe and Asia. A RBS official declined to comment. David Horring, managing director at American Securities, did not return calls. An Oreck official could not be reached by press time.

UBS Warburg's $100 million "B" piece for Serologicals' acquisition of Chemicon International is hitting the market tomorrow with a LIBOR plus 4 1/4% coupon. The five-year, fully underwritten deal also includes a $25 million revolver priced at LIBOR plus 3 3/4%, according to a banker familiar with the facility. This is the life sciences company's first "B" loan. Bud Ingalls, Serologicals' cfo, said in a previous interview that Serologicals was advised that an institutional piece would receive the best reception in the present market (LMW, 2/24). UBS was also the financial advisor for the $95 million acquisition. A UBS official declined to comment.

Banc of America Securities is readying a second synthetic securitization of residential mortgages after debuting its first such product last December, said BofA officials. The firm's first deal, dubbed RESI (Real Estate Synthetic Investments), is thought to be the first of its kind in the U.S. Jennifer DiClerico, spokeswoman in New York, did not return calls.

Jérome Camblain, senior managing director and European head of fixed income distribution and derivatives at Bear Stearns in London, will retire from the firm in late spring to spend more time with his family. Peter Albano, senior managing director and global head of emerging markets in New York, is moving to London to take Camblain's responsibilities.

Export Development Canada, a Canadian government-backed trade financier, has entered into foreign exchange swaps in order to convert non-U.S. dollar debt issues into greenbacks, as well as converting note sales from fixed-rate offerings into synthetic LIBOR-based floating rate liabilities. An official at EDC in Ottawa said the financing body swaps all non-U.S. dollar issues into the currency. Debt is issued in various currencies in order to ensure diversification in its debt portfolio, as well as to reach a broader array of investors. Capital raised from the debt issues is used to support Canadian exporters and investors internationally. Meanwhile, EDC typically converts fixed rate issues into LIBOR-based debt in order to match revenues with interest rate risk, said an official familiar with the firm.