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Bear Stearns' deal for Appleton Papers is being met with a rugged response from both the buyside and bankers uncomfortable with the structure of the deal and concerned about the company's main business line. Last week pricing on the $250 million "B" tranche flexed 1/2% to LIBOR plus 4%, but even at that level investors said they are not eager to commit. The credit backs the $810 million management-led buyout of the company from Arjo Wiggins Appleton.

The Korean government is in a hurry to get its privatisation programme back on course. The roughly $500m combined CB and Global Depository Receipt (GDR) issue for Korea Tobacco & Ginseng (KT&G), pulled from the market after the September 11 attacks, should be launched within two weeks. The government is contemplating an unusual exchangeable bond structure that could be tried out by Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC). KT&G postponed plans to start marketing $494m worth of shares and convertible bonds immediately after the terrorist attacks on the US. However, bankers told EuroWeek that investors across the globe are indicating that a large issue from a defensive stock such as KT&G would be acceptable now that world markets have settled down somewhat.

The Japanese unit of US coffee shop giant Starbucks Corp has set a price of ¥64,000 per share for its IPO on Nasdaq Japan on October 10. The deal is one of the few in Japan that has survived the post-September 11 shakeout, but there are already signs that the market for new issues might soon pick up. Brushing off the crisis in the global financial markets, Starbucks Coffee Japan, the Japanese unit of the Seattle-based company, recently set an indicated price for the IPO of between ¥57,000 and ¥67,000. The company is offering 220,000 new shares and 60,000 existing shares in an issue that, at ¥64,000 per share, is designed to raise as much as ¥18.8bn ($160m). Goldman Sachs is the lead manager.

When bankers working on equity issues are not available to talk, there is usually a problem brewing. That was the case last week - bankers working on the revived offer for Australian Magnesium Corp (AMC) were unavailable last Thursday. On Friday the company announced that it was postponing the deal for a second time. AMC said it was delaying its repackaged and downscaled A$500m share sale again, this time due to unstable markets.

Australia Commonwealth Bank of Australia has increased its EMTN programme to $10bn from $5bn. The bank, rated Aa3/AA-/AA, has also added JP Morgan to its dealer panel and dropped Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers.

Dentsu, Japan's largest advertising company, plans to proceed with its Tokyo Stock Exchange listing, giving hope to banks in Tokyo that the new issues market will soon restart in earnest after the disappointment over the Nomura Research Institute deal, which was pulled back from the market soon after September 11. Dentsu Tec shares have surged this week on reports in Japan that parent Dentsu Inc, Japan's largest advertising agency, will debut on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's first section next month. Dentsu had a 73% stake in Tokyo-based Dentsu Tec as of March 31. Dentsu Tec advertises through newspapers and magazines and also produces promotional materials and TV and radio commercials.

SG Australia this week launched a A$482.5m securitisation backed by residential mortgages originated through Resimac, SG's in-house mortgage financing programme vehicle. Residential Mortgage Accep-tance Corporation is a trust manager and servicer that funds mortgages for about 40 small originators in Australia, as well as for the larger AIMS Home Loans.

EuroWeek understands that Taiwanese authorities want the pulled Chunghwa Telecom American Depository Receipt (ADR) issue to be resurrected this year. However, bankers close to the issue say that the adverse market conditions across the globe and the miserable performance of the Taiwan stock market in the past 18 months, which is down more than 65%, make a deal this year highly improbable.

The Thai government has approved the IPO of Petroleum Authority of Thailand, giving the firm the green light to sell up to 850m new shares. The minimum number will be 500m, but the final amount will be determined by the share price on issue. The Thai finance ministry this week announced that it would not dispose of any of its own shares, instead allowing PTT to sell up to 850m new shares. The MoF then hopes to sell a further Bt30bn-Bt40bn of PTT stock within a few years of the listing.

The bond markets continued their recovery this week, and with many borrowers joining the new issue pipeline, a return to normality is approaching. Sentiment was lifted by a further 50bp rate cut from the US Federal Reserve. In the dollar market, US oil company Conoco tested appetite for triple-B credits and passed with flying colours, increasing its three tranche fixed rate bond to $3.5bn from $2.5bn. A 30 year tranche was added at the last moment in response to investor feedback, joining five and 10 year tranches.

In a move that prompted speculation about its top level fixed income management, Merrill Lynch's Kelly Martin is to replace Win Smith as head of the international private client group. At the same time, Tom Davis moves from running the corporate and institutional group to run an expanded private equity business. He becomes a vice chairman of Merrill Lynch & Co. Smith, who as well as running the private client side of the business was chairman of Merrill Lynch International, has decided to retire - a decision he took after hearing of Martin's move, and apparently after it was announced.

In a move that prompted speculation about its top level fixed income management, Merrill Lynch's Kelly Martin is to replace Win Smith as head of the international private client group. At the same time, Tom Davis moves from running the corporate and institutional group to run an expanded private equity business. He becomes a vice chairman of Merrill Lynch & Co. Smith, who as well as running the private client side of the business was chairman of Merrill Lynch International, has decided to retire - a decision he took after hearing of Martin's move, and apparently after it was announced.