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Leveraged loan market investors are awaiting the largest ever leveraged buy-out in the European market after Apax Partners and Hicks, Muse, Tate&Furst announced their £2.14bn acquisition of telephone directory company Yell from British Telecom (BT) this week.

* Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG - DePfa Rating: Aa3/AA-

Accor, the French hotel group, has had its commercial paper rating upgraded to P-3 from NP by Moody's, despite Jean-Marc Espalioux, Accor's chairman, commenting on a marked slowdown in Accor's US business at a shareholder's meeting last Tuesday. Moody's says the rating action reflects Accor's business diversity and the general strengthening of its financial profile, and expects Accor to maintain its good debt-protection measures in the future. Accor signed its $500 million Euro-CP programme in September 1988, and added Credit Lyonnais and Barclays de Zoete Wedd Investment Management as dealers in June last year. Accor is the only issuer involved in the hotel industry to have a Euro-CP facility.

South Africa Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (facility agent) and UBS Warburg (bookrunner) will launch the debt facility supporting DB Investments' bid for De Beers to general syndication between June 8 and June 11, with a bank presentation scheduled in London on June 18.

Hong Kong Five banks including ABN Amro (Hong Kong), Development Bank of Singapore and Rabobank (Hong Kong) have joined forces to launch a HK$4.2bn revolver for Wheelock Co.

Asia * Mirvac Capital Pty Ltd Series 2001-1

Philippines * Republic of the Philippines

Atlanteo Capital is set to issue a euro8.13 million (6.95 million) note tomorrow. The note pays interest on a monthly basis and a final coupon of 1.060%. The note is the issuer's 36th of the year, all of which have been denominated in euro.

BNDES took advantage this week of surging Japanese retail demand for higher yielding emerging market bonds by launching a blowout ¥90bn six year Samurai, increased from ¥50bn. The deal, led by bookrunner Nomura Securities and joint lead Kokusai Securities, was priced at par with a coupon of 4.75%, near the middle of its 4.6%-4.85% guidance.

Hansabank (Latvia) has concluded a euro25 million ($21.36 million) note to be issued on June 5. The note has an eight-year tenor and pays interest semi-annually. This is the issuer's second trade of 2001 following its euro70 million issue in February.

Gazprom's board of directors met on Wednesday to remove CEO Rem Vyakhirev, reviving the chances of the gas company's Eurobond being executed this year. Gazprom gave a mandate to Credit Suisse First Boston and Schroder Salomon Smith Barney as long ago as January for a Eurobond of undisclosed size and intermediate maturity.