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Richmond, Va.-based Dominion Resources, one of the nation's largest producers of energy, will use a bridge loan to finance the acquisition of Louis Dreyfus Natural Gas prior to putting in place $900 million in bonds and $200 million in preferred trusts. The acquisition is being made for $2.3 billion in cash, stock and assumed debt. Merrill Lynch, who advised on the transaction is believed to be leading the financing. Officials at Merrill could not be reached for comment. Scott Hetzer, senior v.p. and treasurer did not return calls. Calls to spokesman Mark Lazenby were not returned. Advisers on the transaction were Merrill Lynch to Dominion and Lehman Brothers to Louis Dreyfus.

Pediatrix Medical Group, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based neonatal physician network, increased its credit facility by $25 million to continue growth through acquisitions, rather than swap stock. Bob Kneeley, director of investor relations, said Pediatrix is planning to spend $40 million acquiring practices this year and will spend another $50 million next year. The company had a $75 million maturing three-year revolver with a one-year extension led by BankBoston, but upsized this to a $100 million, three-year revolver led by Fleet Bank. The old credit was set to expire at the end of October. The proceeds will pay for the physician practices Pediatrix acquires. "We've never used equity when acquiring doctors," said Kneeley, explaining Pediatrix wants to avert the selling practices from the uncertainties of the equity market.

There may be virtually no corporate bond market to speak off, but Hungary does have the most liquid government debt market in the region, largely due to the efficiency of its consolidated state debt management agency. The agency has already begun preparations for a smooth transition from forints to euros, not just by realigning issue maturities but also by targeting new investors. But it is Hungary's central bank that has boldly led the way towards EU transition, as Laurence Knight reports

Poland's domestic bond market may be the largest among EU applicant states, but it is dominated by government securities. As at the end of May 2001, the outstanding amount of debt securities totalled Z132bn (Eu34.1bn), of which non-government offerings accounted for just Z15bn. However, with local institutional investors keen for an alternative supply of issues, hesitant steps are being taken to develop a public corporate bond market. Nick Parsons reports

Anna Suszynska, deputy director of the public debt department at the ministry of finance, talks to Nick Parsons about the ministry's plans to build a more liquid and transparent domestic market for public debt. Her department was set up in 1993 with the main function of managing current and future government domestic debt; in 1998, it also took over the role of issuing foreign debt which had previously been the preserve of the foreign department

Romania has, over the last year, managed to compensate for an uncompromising domestic bond market by achieving some success in the Eurobond market over the last year.

The Slovak government faces a problem that every government in the region has had to overcome, or will have to - finding a way to finance the budget deficit cheaply, while still developing the domestic bond market.

Now is a good time to raise international awareness of the development of Slovenia's local securities market," claims Stanislava Zadravec, state undersecretary for public debt management.

Over the next decade, the EU expects to welcome at least 10 former Communist countries as new member states. So far, the transition of the EU applicants to market economies has been far from uniform. Laurence Knight reviews governments' progress in developing domestic bond markets, their efforts to diversify the investor base, and how banks are importing capital market expertise

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The Bulgarian government has in the last year made serious efforts to develop the country's debt capital markets. For starters, in 2000 it succeeded in extending its yield curve out first to three years and then to five. It plans to take the curve out to 10 years in the near future.