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Railtrack's plans to raise £2bn-£3bn in the bond markets are well advanced, and should consist of dollar, euro and sterling issues later this year, according to a company spokesman this week. "At the time of our preliminary results released last week, we announced that we needed to borrow £2bn-£4bn over the next two years," he told EuroWeek. "Our plans are well advanced for a sterling, euro and dollar debt programme, which will probably take the form of a bond issue of £2bn-£3bn to be launched in the late summer or early autumn."

CIBC and Merrill Lynch are set to keep the leveraged market on the boil with the launch of the £885m senior debt and £75m senior mezzanine facilities backing Nomura's $1.9bn purchase of the Compass Group's Le Méridien hotel chain. The chain consists of 146 hotels including Grosvenor House in London and the Waldorf chain. The Méridien hotels will be merged with Principal Hotels, which was acquired in February this year for £225m.

Railtrack's plans to raise £2bn-£3bn in the bond markets are well advanced, and should consist of dollar, euro and sterling issues later this year, according to a company spokesman this week. "At the time of our preliminary results released last week, we announced that we needed to borrow £2bn-£4bn over the next two years," he told EuroWeek. "Our plans are well advanced for a sterling, euro and dollar debt programme, which will probably take the form of a bond issue of £2bn-£3bn to be launched in the late summer or early autumn."

Coca-Cola Amatil is set to issue a $20 million note on June 13. The five-year note pays interest semi-annually. It is the issuer's first note of the year.

Coca-Cola HBC will sign a euro2 billion ($1.72 million) Euro-MTN programme this week. Schroder Salomon Smith Barney has scooped the arrangership. The roadshow for the debut bond will begin in London on Monday, June 4. The first issue off the programme is likely to be a benchmark issue of at least euro500 million and of intermediate maturity. Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), Deutsche Bank and Schroder Salomon Smith Barney will act as joint bookrunners for the issue. Helen Wilkinson, group treasurer, at Coca-Cola HBC says: "Our debut transaction will be in euro. In the future we will look at various currencies but will always swap back into euro." Wilkinson also identifies the reasons for signing the programme. She says: "We are not raising any additional funds and will be using the debut bond to refinance part of our existing bank debt. About 85% of our underlying assets have a tenor of five years or more. Therefore, over time, we would like the majority of our bank debt to be refinanced with longer maturity public debt through the Euro-MTN facility." The dealers off the programme are the arranger, CSFB, Deutsche Bank and HSBC.

Colombia, anxious to beat any volatility relating to Argentina's debt exchange, made a successful surprise return to the plain vanilla dollar global bond market this week with a $400m five year transaction. The deal, led by Morgan Stanley, is Colombia's first plain vanilla dollar new issue since January 2000, and its third major foray into the dollar markets this year. Colombia issued a $750m World Bank guaranteed 10 year transaction in April and a $250m re-opening of its 2020s in March.

Colombia, anxious to beat any volatility relating to Argentina's debt exchange, made a successful surprise return to the plain vanilla dollar global bond market this week with a $400m five year transaction. The deal, led by Morgan Stanley, is Colombia's first plain vanilla dollar new issue since January 2000, and its third major foray into the dollar markets this year. Colombia issued a $750m World Bank guaranteed 10 year transaction in April and a $250m re-opening of its 2020s in March.

Credit Suisse First Boston completed a Eu31.2m secondary offering for United Medical Systems International (UMS), the German mobile medical services provider, this week. With a 200,000 share greenshoe yet to be exercised, the deal could be increased to Eu36m.

Equity capital market experts were curious this week why Hyundai Motor chose to sell a $500m 2.2 year bond issue that can be exchanged into 51m shares of listed affiliate Kia Motors. The issue is on behalf of special purpose vehicle HMC Cayman Finance and is arranged by lead manager Credit Suisse First Boston. The notes are being sold into Europe and the US through a 144A placement but the issue appears to achieve little for Hyundai as almost all the proceeds are used to collateralise the notes by the purchase of maturity matched US Treasuries. The notes are accordingly rated triple-A.

* Scandinavian Airlines System Rating: A3

Croatia The Eu45m three year term loan for Splitska Banka will be signed today (Friday).

Electricité de France (EdF) is expected to announce the bookrunners for a long dated sterling transaction today (Friday). About eight banks are bidding for the mandate. EdF has been centre stage recently because of its plans to expand into Spain with a takeover of Hidrocantabrico, and Italy with the purchase of Montedison. But the moves have stalled because of objections from France's neighbours to the slow liberalisation of that country's energy sector.