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Harry Resis, head of high-yield at Zurich Scudder Investments in Chicago and a longtime and high-profile portfolio manager, is giving serious consideration to leaving the firm, according to three senior sell-side officials who say they have spoken to him directly about the matter. They say he is unhappy over the planned reorganization of the high-yield business following Deutsche Asset Management's acquisition of Scudder, which is expected to be finalized within the next few months. While details are still being worked out, the plan would be to move the bulk of Scudder's roughly $5 billion in high-yield assets to Philadelphia, where it would be managed by Andrew Cestone, who currently manages some $650 million for Deutsche Asset Management. Resis, reached at Scudder's offices in Chicago, declined comment.

Bank of America and Credit Suisse First Boston's credit for dialysis provider, DaVita, was shown last week to a buyside eager to jump in on the huge $800 million "B" piece. "They're bumping up the leverage, but they generate so much cash flow and they plan to continue to pay down debt," said one buysider who is looking to invest in the seven-year term loan "B" at pricing of LIBOR plus 3 1/4 %. Rich Whitney, cfo at DaVita, is optimistic that interest in the name will generate enough orders to potentially result in a reverse flex on the deal. "There's a good chance they'll be a flex down," he said, regarding positive buzz on the credit.

A bid from Deutsche Bank is said to be standing out in an expected pack of ultra-competitive bids to provide financing to back the carve-out of Tyco's plastic business, with the bank pitching an aggressive staple-on financing play, bankers said. J.P. Morgan, Citibank, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse First Boston are among the group of banks looking to provide highly competitive deals to the private-equity firms circling the Tyco business. Deutsche Bank, which is shopping the business for Tyco with Goldman Sachs, is rumored to be putting a deal together offering 5-5.5 times total leverage, or 70% of the total purchase price to interested parties. "If Deutsche Bank is really on the table with this, it would be the most leveraged deal since 1998," said one banker. No timeframe could be determined for when mandates will be awarded.

Robert Drutman has resigned from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development where he was asset-backed securities portfolio manager. Drutman, who managed $2.5 billion in ABS for the EBRD in London, told BondWeek he decided to pursue a new challenge.

Last week saw a mostly flat secondary market through Thursday, with most new issues performing well, as had been the case the previous week. Better-performing sectors such as gaming and homebuilding were weaker, as cyclical names were better bid. Here was other action.

The $1.2 billion credit led by Goldman Sachs and Citibank for SC Johnson Wax is now oversubscribed on both the "B" tranche and the pro rata, and there is speculation that pricing will be flexed downward to reflect the $1.25 billion in commitments that have come in on the $650 million "B" tranche. The "B" tranche was fully subscribed in both Europe and the U.S., so the Euro tranche is likely to be $200 million, said the banker. It could have been between $100 million and $200 million, depending on demand, he clarified. Pricing is currently LIBOR plus 33/ 4%, but a potential flex size could not be determined.

J.P. Morgan Securities has hired Joe Acurso and Mark Hansen, both of whom are v.p.s, from Merrill Lynch to head up a new project loan trading effort. Both Hansen and Acurso will ultimately report to mortgage department chief Kevin Finnerty. On a daily basis, they will report to Tom Wiles, managing director. Specializing in Ginnie Mae-backed loans, the pair helped originate and trade three transactions for approximately $1 billion while at Merrill. Finnerty was traveling and unavailable for comment.

J.P. Morgan Securities has hired David Montano to become chief of all mortgage research--a new slot--at the firm. He joins fromCredit Suisse First Boston, where he ran the firm's MBS research effort. He will report jointly to residential MBS chief Kevin Finnerty and Nanette Abuhoff, head of interest-rate research. Montano, who made his first appearance last year on the Institutional Investor All American Fixed-Income Research Team, will take over for Joan Rogers, who has moved to the bank's MBS investment portfolio side. Montano, who had left CSFB as of last Thursday, did not take any colleagues with him, nor was it certain when he would begin at J.P. Morgan, or what his title would be. Montano could not be reached and Finnerty did not return a phone call seeking comment.

The Loan Syndications and Trading Association has approved a proposal to develop additional model credit agreement provisions governing agent and lender rights and obligations. The project aims to govern the relationship between the agent and the lending syndicate --as well as certain other technical matters -- and is designed to reduce uncertainty, particularly in times of market stress, noted Jane Summers, general counsel for the LSTA.

Magnum Hunter Resources has completed the first phase of its financing backing its merger with Prize Energy and is now planning the retail round of syndication on the loan piece. The company has wrapped a successful bond offering and managing agent bank round. According to a banker familiar with the situation, four banks have come in at the senior managing agent level, in addition to leads Deutsche Bank, CIBC World Markets and BNP Paribas. The retail round will be done in April when second-tier lenders will be approached.

J.P. Morgan and Citibank last week launched syndication of a $430 million refinancing package for camera-maker Panavision with $180 million of bank debt and $250 million of supposedly silent, second-lien bonds. The silent lien refers to bondholders not having a voice if the bank debt holders decide to move the collateral in case of foreclosure. A J.P. Morgan spokesman denied the bonds contain the silent component, but he said the bondholders do have a second lien on the collateral package. The new deal refinances $340 million in bank debt and so significantly reduces the total amount of bank debt from 4 times to 2 times, noted a banker. The incorporation of the second lien is similar to the Revlon deal recently led by J.P. Morgan, bankers said. Scott Seybold, cfo and executive v.p. of Panavision, could not be contacted, according to company officials.

Morgan Stanley has hired Michael Garrity, a high-yield services analyst from Putnam Investments. He will report to Bill Reiland, head of North American credit research at Morgan Stanley. Garrity will fill a position vacated by Bob Packer, who has moved internally to the integrated credit group--which monitors and forecasts credit ratings for prospective issuers. Reiland says Morgan Stanley vetted the hire through Putnam before making Garrity a formal offer. The analyst will make the move to New York next month.