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News of a bidding war for control of Finova Group sparked a flurry of small trades totaling $25 million in the ballpark of 83 1/2 early Thursday. The bid-offer spread was quoted at 83-84 1/2, up from 81. Meanwhile, dealers cautioned the counter offer by GE Capital was just that, an offer, and still too preliminary to impact levels. "It will still be sloppy," said a dealer. "There's just too many questions. A bid is only a bid; it's not firm." A spokesman at Finova did not return calls.

Del Monte Corporation's $325 million revolving credit and $415 million term loan "B" has been assigned a Ba3 rating by Moody's Investors Service, reflecting the San Francisco fruit and vegetable giant's relatively low potential for organic volume and price growth and the potential for disruption from the energy crisis in California. But the report, written by senior analyst Helen Calvelli, also cites company's strengths, such as its dominant market position, brand equity, and the relatively stable underlying long-term consumption trends for its products.

Barclays and ING Barings, co-arrangers on a five-year, $600 million revolving credit facility for London-based Inmarsat Holdings Ltd, launched syndication of the loan last week with the expectation of completing the deal by the end of the month. Ramin Khadem, cfo of Inmarsat, said the loan is for general corporate purposes and will replace a $400 million bridge loan signed at the start of this year used for short-term financing needs. The banks were chosen based on previous relationships they had with the company, he added. Inmarsat is an operator of global satellite systems for communications.

Irvine, Calif.-based Edwards Life Sciences Corporation, a provider of products and services used in the treatment of late-stage cardiovascular disease, has completed the replacement of its 364-day revolving credit facility, with a downsized $175 million revolver. The previous $650 million credit comprised a $430 million, five-year revolver and a one-year, $220 million facility. The $430 million credit is still in place, noted Daniel Gallagher, assistant treasurer, but the shorter-term loan has been pared down to suit the requirements of the company.

Exodus Communications' bank debt stumbled out of the 100 range after the departure of the company's cfo, Dick Stoltz, late Tuesday. There were reported trades in the 95-96 range totaling $10 million. The Web hosting company's levels are also said to be taking a beating as the industry has fallen out of favor. "It's emerging telecom, so it's a risk that people don't want to go near," a dealer said. "I had a 99 bid out there for a while, and no one would touch it." Exodus, based in Santa Clara, Calif., provides services like server hosting and Internet connectivity that allow businesses to outsource the management of their Internet sites. Calls to a company spokesman were not returned.

Bankers said First Union and FleetBoston Financial closed syndication last week on their four-year, $425 million credit for HRPT Properties Trust (LMW, 4/9) with a 14-member group syndicate including FleetBoston Financial as syndication agent, and Commerzbank and Bank of New York as documentation agents. Other lenders participating in the facility include AmSouth Bank, Citizens Bank, Sun Trust Bank, Bank of Ireland, Chevy Chase Bank, Eastern Bank, National Bank of Egypt, RZB Finance and Bank Leumi.

American General subsidiary of North American Funds has come out with a D-share class on its floating rate loan fund as a way to get exposure for the fund in load-waived brokerage programs. The company previously had two floating rate funds, one under its no-load CypressTree name and one under its North American Funds, load channel brand. Those funds have been merged as the company did away with CypressTree as a retail brand, but there was no share class designed for load-waived programs. The North American floating rate fund has offered B- and C-shares. The D-share has been created specifically to make the loan fund available for load-waived, fee-based programs, as it does not carry a sales charge. "The difference is branding," said Joe Grause, president of the North American Funds. The loan fund asset class has been one of the more popular niche asset classes over the past few years, with industry heavyweights Fidelity Investments, Franklin Templeton Investments and Eaton Vance all devoting significant product development efforts to loan funds. These companies have recently come out with open-end versions of loan funds, but Grause said North American does not have any plans to pursue that type of fund at this time. The existing loan fund offers monthly redemptions, which has satisfied clients' need for liquidity, he said.

Bankers last week said syndication of Credit Suisse First Boston's $500 million credit backing Blum Capital's $750 million acquisition of CB Richard Ellis Services Inc., has been moving slowly. Bankers following the deal said there were only four commitments, including one institutional ticket, at the start of last week. But one banker close to the situation said more than 15 investors have chipped in since the mid-April bank meeting. It could not be determined when the credit is scheduled closing to close. Officials at CB Richard Ellis declined comment.

Rite-Aid.Com is making positive moves in a market full of dot-com carnage. The company's bank debt continues to climb, hitting 98 last week, up from a low of 65. Dealers attribute the steady increase to an improved outlook for the company. Roughly $20 million changed hands last week. "They had a bunch of problems that they've worked through," a trader said, referring to sales. "People thought they would have to merge." The company is based in Camp Hill, Pa.

Pricing on the $2.5 billion commercial paper backstop for Pleasanton, California-based Safeway Inc. has raised eyebrows in the investment-grade community as some lenders say the pricing -- LIBOR plus 1/4% -- is stingy. As first reported on LMW's Web Site last week, Bank of Nova Scotia, administrative agent, and Bank of America, have signed on with a combined $400 million, according to a banker familiar with the deal. Those commitments come in on top of $250 million commitments from co-arrangers Deutsche Bank and J.P. Morgan Chase. Melissa Plaisance, senior v.p., finance at North America's largest food retailer, said that the price increases to 60 basis points if Safeway uses one-third of its lines and up to 90 basis points if more than two-thirds are used. She added that no problems are envisaged with filling the deal. She declined to comment further on a deal in progress. Syndication of the deal, launched two weeks ago, has May 22 pegged as the target date for close.

A $5 million piece of VoiceStream Wireless' bank debt traded at 99 1/2 last Monday, which is level to a trade two weeks ago. Dealers expect the credit will soon hit 100 as the company moves closer to merging with Deutsche Telekom. Last week the Federal Communications Commission approved the acquisition. "It just passed a regulatory hurdle, and Deutsche Telekom expects to complete the merger by the end of the month," a trader noted. "It will either be taken out or lenders will effectively own Deutsche Telekom risk. Either way, they are very cheap." He added that the bonds are 114 3/4 bid.