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Hermes, the vocal UK fund manager, has weighed into the equity analysts' debate by requesting meetings with its top five brokers to find out what the banks intend to do with their research. The investor is the first to publicly voice concerns over the uncertainty surrounding equity research. Major institutional investors nearly always say that they place little value on sell-side research, as they have their own research teams that they know to be completely independent.

The $350m three year deal for cellular telecommunications company Cosmote has been well received by bankers, despite general market aversion to telecommunications risk. Success of the deal has been put down to the reputation of Cosmote's main shareholders, A2/A rated OTE with 58.98% and A2/A- rated Telenor holding 18%.

Despite pulling its planned Eu1bn and £300m bond issues last week due to volatile market conditions, Hutchison Whampoa went ahead with the launch of its Eu760m equivalent, five year acquisition loan as scheduled on October 8. Mandated arrangers ABN Amro, BayernLB (Hong Kong), Rabobank (Hong Kong) and ING Bank are offering banks the option of committing to a Eu550m portion priced at 40bp over Euribor or a $210m tranche paying 40bp over Libor. Banks can commit to both tranches on a pro rata basis or solely to either portion.

BNP Paribas, CSFB, Bank of Scotland and Royal Bank of Scotland - which are working on the potential buy-out or trade buy of Holmes Place plc - anticipate an announcement of the top bidder for the health clubs operator in the coming fortnight. At the beginning of September Holmes Place recommended a £205m offer from rival peer Cannons, lead contender for the acquisition. That offer represents 200p per Holmes Place share.

Amount: A$750m Rating: S&P/Fitch

The mandate to arrange the Eu125m-Eu130m three year facility for OTP Bank will be awarded next week. Five banks are on the shortlist, including Bank Austria, DZ Bank, Sumitomo and WestLB.

Mandated arranger BayernLB has closed syndication of the Eu100m two year term loan for Landsbanki Islands. Banks will be signed in to the deal on 21 October in Munich. The deal has been oversubscribed and increased to Eu125m.

Gazprom, the world's largest natural gas company, defied the capital markets meltdown this week to launch a $500m seven year bond with a three year put option.

Arrangers Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch have received the bulk of commitments from institutional investors in syndication of the Eu2.525bn debt facilities backing the Madison Dearborn Partners led public-to-private of Jefferson Smurfit Group (JSG). Arrangers have targeted institutional investors in the US and Europe. Like all of the other jumbo leveraged loans seen in the Euroloan market recently, the final reply date for JSG has come and gone. The deadline has moved from October 8 to next week.

EuroWeek hears that Barclays is arranging a Eu357m facility supporting Merloni Elettrodomestici's acquisition of 50% of UK-based home appliances company, General Domestic Appliances (GDA). Merloni last tapped the loan markets when it secured a DM150m five year revolver via Deutsche Bank, Banca Commerciale Italiana and BayernLB in 1996. That deal offered a margin of 50bp over Libor.

Sole mandated arranger Standard Bank will close syndication of the $15m six month trade facility for Nurbank next week. The deal is almost fully subscribed, but there are some more commitments due in the next few days.

Tarun Jotwani, who used to run fixed income in Asia at Lehman Brothers, is moving to London to fill a newly created position as head of international credit markets. Lehman's Asian high yield chief, Hyung Soon Lee, replaces Jotwani as head of Asian fixed income. Lee joined Lehman Brothers a decade ago, and has been running high yield in Tokyo since 1997.