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UPC, the struggling Dutch cable company, will save itself $200m if it goes ahead with the planned flotation of Priority Telecom, its business telecoms unit. UPC bought Cignal Global Telecommunications last year in exchange for 16% of Priority Telecom, and as part of the deal UPC said it would float Priority before October 1. If not, then UPC agreed it would pay the former Cignal shareholders $200m in UPC shares or cash.

Deutsche Bank has won the mandate to lead the Eu400m rights issue for Suedzucker, the German sugar producer. The shares will be offered at a fixed price to all shareholders at a ratio of 9:2 or 5:1. The sale represents 20% of Suedzucker's Eu2.5bn market capitalisation. At a shareholder meeting yesterday (Thursday), Suedzucker confirmed that it would offer the shares at a 20% discount on the market price excluding the dividend.

Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein has won the sole mandate to arrange a Eu1.6bn loan to support the Eu2.63bn acquisition of Italy's Elettrogen by an Endesa-led consortium. The loan is the latest in an impressive line of jumbo facilities to come out of Italy over the summer months. It is also an impressive amount for just one bank to underwrite and shows how keen DrKW is to develop its name in the European debt markets.

Hungary Mandated arrangers Bank Austria and Royal Bank of Scotland have signed banks into the Eu70m five year revolving credit facility for Bank Austria Hungary.

Essent, the Dutch utility, signed a euro2 billion ($1.83 billion) debt issuance programme on Tuesday, August 21, and has already issued the first trade off the facility. ABN Amro was the arranger. UBS Warburg lead-managed the debut deal. The programme was due to be signed in March this year (see MTNWeek, issue 222), but Rene Santegoeds, treasurer at Essent, says: "There was a delay because of internal discretions, in particular which of the two named issuers should do the issuing." The inaugural trade is said to be a ¥55 billion ($465.52 million) private placement. Santegoeds says: "I don't want to comment on the inaugural trade. There are some political issues that I can't mention." Now that trading has started, Santegoeds expects most trades to be vanilla euro deals. The maturities will be decided later, depending on Essent's other commitments. The dealers for the facility are the arranger, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch and UBS Warburg.

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Seven issuers were doing trades in euro on Friday. Hypothekenbank in Essen announced the biggest deal of the day: a euro150 million ($134.30 million) note that matures in February 2003. Lehman Brothers Holdings did the four smallest trades. Three of the four-year notes were sized at euro1.96 million, and the other was for euro5.88 million. Societe Generale Finance did a euro10 million and a euro20 million trade. The first goes out to August 2006, the second to January 2011. Rabobank Nederland also did a euro10 million trade, but it has a zero coupon structure and matures in September 2009. Credit Lyonnais Finance, Deutsche Bank and Hypo Alpe-Adria Bank made up the other three trades on Friday. Credit Lyonnais and Hypo Alpe-Adria Bank both opted for euro7 million deals. Credit Lyonnais's matures in November next year and pays a final coupon of 21.2%, and Hypo Alpe Adria Bank's goes out to May 2005 and pays a final coupon of 7.193%. Deutsche's trade has a tenor of just under five years.

There were just seven euro trades yesterday and volumes were small. Three notes were traded for under euro7 million ($6.42 million). Both Banque Generale du Luxembourg and EBS Building Society (EBS) traded euro6 million MTNs. The former concluded a one-year note to be issued on September 4. The note pays interest singularly and has a final coupon of 8.135%. EBS is set to issue its note on August 30. The note pays interest singularly and matures on December 30 2005. Merrill Lynch concluded a five-year note, which is to be issued on August 31. The note has a zero interest payment frequency. Aegon and Westfalische Hypothekenbank boosted volumes with euro100 million trades. Aegon is to issue its MTN on August 29. The note pays interest singularly and matures on March 29 2003. The latter's is a five-year note that pays interest semi-annually. BRV traded a euro20 million note and Erste Bank der Oesterreichischen Sparkassen concluded a euro25 million trade.

The number of euro trades was up substantially yesterday compared to the previous day's low turnout - 13 trades in all. Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale was particularly busy with two euro150 million ($136.75 million) trades. Both notes are issued on August 27 and differ by only one day in their maturity date - one maturing on February 27 2003, the other on February 28 2003. Both notes pay interest singularly. Volume was boosted by a euro500 million MTN from Bear Sterns that is to be issued on September 17. The note pays interest quarterly. Whilst yen has been the issuer's dominant choice of currency in 2001, euro trades make up 27.5% of its MTN activity so far this year. The longest-dated trade came from Helix Investments II whose euro10 million MTN reaches out to December 29 2014. The note pays interest singularly. BNP Paribas issued the smallest note and also the shortest-dated. Its euro5 million note pays interest singularly and has a final coupon of 10.500%. Salomon Smith Barney was busy acting as bookrunner on trades for two issuers - Commerzbank's euro 15 million note and Westpac Banking Corp's euro20 million note.

Fannie Mae's $9bn of Benchmark Note issuance provided the global dollar market with its only major financing of the week and, in a quiet period dominated by Tuesday's FOMC meeting, both tranches attracted healthy oversubscription. A new $5bn two year note was priced at 99.902 with a coupon of 4% to yield 34bp over the two year Treasury, and a $4bn re-opening of the 5.25% June 2006 note was priced at 100.913 to yield 57bp over five year Treasuries.

There were a low number of euro trades again yesterday - six in all - the lowest in number this week. Bear Stearns were once again the only issuer to boost volume. Toping its euro500 million ($593.02 million) trade from Tuesday, Bear Stearns issued a five-year euro650 million MTN. Bear Stearns International and Banca IMI were joint-bookrunners. Deutsche Bank was busy lead-managing a euro50 million note for Munchener Hypothekenbank. The note pays interest annually and has a final coupon of 6.250%. Despite low volumes, the trend was towards long-dated trades. Erste Bank der Osterreichischen Sparkassen (euro41 million) and Caisse Centrale du Credit Immobilier de France (euro30 million) both issued 20-year notes. The smallest trade was a euro3.95 million note from NIB Capital which matures on February 24 2005. BNP Paribas traded six-year euro30 million note.