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Guarantor: Bank of Scotland Rating: Aa2/AA/AA+

Banca Popolare di Lodi will raise more than Eu2bn over the next three years to help position it as one of Italy's top 10 banking groups and strengthen its capital ratios. The bank, which is restructuring, aims to have a distribution network of at least 1,000 branches by the end of the year.

Rating: Aaa Amount: Eu3bn cédulas hipotecarias

Rating: Aaa/AAA/AAA Amount: Nkr500m

Rating: A1/A+/BBB+ Amount: Eu150m

Rating: Aaa/AAA/AAA Amount: $200m

UK internet travel company ebookers will raise £40m through an equity placing to finance its £55m acquisition of Travelbag, the Australia and New Zealand travel specialist. The acquisition makes ebookers, which was the third best performing stock on the London Stock Exchange last year, joint largest independent travel operator in the UK along with Trailfinders.

The Kingdom of Belgium this week leveraged off its experience of launching syndicated government bonds to execute its new 10 year benchmark 1bp inside its curve via bookrunners Citigroup/SSSB, Dexia Capital Markets, SG and UBS Warburg. Bookbuilding for the transaction began slowly when marketing started last Friday (January 17), but by the time the transaction was priced yesterday (Thursday) almost Eu10bn in orders had been placed, some 80% of them at the eventual re-offer. The books also included an unusually high cash component of around 95%.

EuroWeek hears that Arcellor Group is looking for a $1bn debt financing. The steelmaker was formed in a $3.1bn deal in 2001 when Unisor of France, Arbed of Luxembourg and Aceralia of Spain merged.

Finnish steel maker Outokumpu this week ventured back into the syndicated loan market to secure a new facility that should be in excess of $600m. Although the tenor is still under discussion, a keen bidding process has already started - the borrower is extremely well regarded in the loan market.

The continuing slide in equity markets this week, resulting in the FTSE 100 reaching lows not seen for five years, did not hit the credit market as hard as expected, with spreads widening only a limited amount. However, the large supply of three year dollar global product took its toll, with recent deals by the EIB and ADB losing some 6bp-7bp on the week.