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Investors are reviewing Bank of America and Salomon Smith Barney's credit for Rayovac Corp. after being offered a LIBOR plus 31/ 4% spread and a 10 basis points upfront fee for the $375 million "B" piece. One banker familiar with the deal said two or three tickets came straight in after last Wednesday's bank meeting, but she declined to comment on the amounts. Investors are working through the credit, and feedback is expected this week, she added. Buysiders and bankers said it was way too soon to call whether pricing would need to be adjusted, although a few buysiders were optimistic spreads would remain high for the rest of the year.

J.P. Morgan and Credit Suisse First Boston today are launching syndication of a financing package backing J.P. Morgan Partners' $539 million acquisition of Brand Services from DLJ Merchant Banking. The bank portion comprises a $150 million "B" term loan and a $50 million revolver, which will be undrawn at closing. Pricing on the seven-year "B" piece is LIBOR plus 31/ 4%, while that on the six-year revolver is LIBOR plus 23/ 4% with a 50 basis point commitment fee.

London and Capital Asset Management, which manages roughly $200 million in fixed-income assets, is in the market for a head of fixed income. Cliff Ongley, compliance officer, says the firm would like to fill the recently vacated spot as soon as possible. The new hire should have expertise in a wide range of fixed-income sectors--from investment grade to high yield to emerging markets--and be comfortable handling debt issued in a wide range of currencies.

Metals USA, a Houston metals processor and distributor, is talking to five undisclosed banks about refinancing a $100 million credit facility led by Bank of America, as part of its strategy to exit Chapter 11. Michael Kirksey, ceo, told sister publication Corporate Financing Week that he expects to have a $175 million credit facility to replace the B of A loan.

A small piece of the New Orleans Hornets' revolver was believed to have changed hands at around 101 1/2 last week. These are assets that people feel comfortable with, one dealer noted, explaining why the pro-rata was able to trade above par.

Wachovia Securities is launching a $450 million bank deal backing Gray Television's $502.5 million acquisition of Stations Holding Company, which is comprised of 15 of Benedek Broadcasting's stations. The loan comprises a $75 million revolver priced at LIBOR plus 3% and a $375 million "B" term loan priced at LIBOR plus 31/ 4%. It is undecided whether the "B" tranche will be sold at par, one banker said. Calls to Jim Ryan, cfo of Gray, were not returned. A Wachovia banker declined to comment.

Australian mortgage lender Suncorp-Metway this week priced Apollo Series 2002-2 Trust, its third residential mortgage deal for a total of A$750m. Offshore investors were keen buyers of the paper due to the lack of European MBS. Salomon Smith Barney lead managed the issue with co-manager UBS Warburg. Apollo Series 2002-2 Trust offered four tranches of notes which were rated by Fitch and Standard & Poor's. All were priced in line with recent transactions.

Korea Electric Power Corp (Kepco) returned in style to the dollar bond market, after an absence of nearly three years, with a $650m five year global issue yesterday (Thursday). The 144a Reg S transaction was a resounding success - despite being issued when US stockmarkets were taking a hammering.

Australia Citigroup/SSB and UBS Warburg are preparing an IPO of Laminex, which markets and distributes laminated particle board for kitchen, office furniture and other applications.

The Republic of the Philippines took the market by surprise this week with an opportunistic $300m five year issue, reinforcing its reputation as Asia's most prolific international issuer. The deal was launched after less than two days of pre-marketing, with ING acting as sole bookrunner for the Reg S transaction.

Australian insurer QBE Group on Wednesday evening sold $150m (A$277m) of long dated convertible bonds in a privately placed add-on tranche to an almost identical $250m offering completed in April. The transaction was the second success for lead manager Merrill Lynch in offering this particular 20 year hybrid structure in Australia. Both issues were launched this year for QBE. The transaction was in the form of the Merrill Lynch manufactured zero coupon notes the bank calls Liquid Yield Option Notes (Lyons).

Undeterred by the Nikkei 225 hitting 19 year lows this week, joint lead managers and joint bookrunners Daiwa SMBC, Morgan Stanley and UBS Warburg are forging ahead with the float of Nippon Steel's software integration subsidiary, NS Solutions. If all goes as planned in the regulatory filings, the deal could raise more than ¥47bn ($400m), making it the largest IPO since March.