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Finland Sampo, the Finnish insurance company has triggered a bidding war with its Nkr20.8bn (Eu2.6bn) offer for Storebrand, Norway's largest insurance group. The bid follows a Nkr17.5bn informal bid from Den norske Bank that went through at the close of trading on Monday 21.

Several sales of corporate divisions in the German market have been attracting attention this week as the Degussa Dental division went to a trade buyer and two auctions, for ContiTech and Mannesmann Plastic Machinery, moved one step nearer to close. And the final round of bids for the sale of Henkel's chemicals unit, Cognis, will close on June 5. At the last count equity houses in the bidding group were down to the final few. Market sources suggest that those left are KKR, Schroders and Bain Capital. The resulting buy-out could total as much as Eu3bn-Eu3.5bn.

SK Corp and Citic Pacific launched international bond issues this week to buoyant investor demand. Korea-based SK Corp's $250m senior unsecured Eurobond issue ended up three times oversubscribed and subsequently tightened 15bp in secondary markets.

Sonera has increased the limit off its euro2 billion ($1.71 billion) debt issuance programme, raising it to euro3 billion.

Market report Compiled by Richard Favis, RBC DS Global Markets, South Africa.

* Nederlandse Waterschapsbank NV Rating: Aaa/AAA

Stora Enso has raised the ceiling off its Euro-MTN programme from euro2 billion ($1.71 billion) to euro3 billion. Svensk Handelsbanken has been added as a dealer.

* Rabobank Nederland NV Rating: Aaa/AAA/AAA

Tele Danmark has increased the limit off its debt issuance programme to $3 billion from $2 billion.

Tecnost International Finance has concluded a two-year euro400 million ($346.2 million) note to be issued on June 11. The note pays interest singularly and is the issuer's first trade of 2001.

Carnival Corporation, the US cruise ship operator, has sold £349m of shares in Airtours through a UBS Warburg and Deutsche Bank led accelerated bookbuild. Carnival announced the deal, which enabled it to offload its 25.1% stake in Airtours, on Monday morning, at the same time as Airtours announced its interim results. The deal was priced on Tuesday evening at 284p per share, just below the closing price of 285p. The shares slipped 15p on Monday from an opening price of 291p.

HSBC (bookrunners), Royal Bank of Scotland (facility agent) and WestLB (documentation agent) have won the mandate to arrange a Eu200m five year revolver for Safeway plc, the supermarket chain. The loan will be launched on Tuesday 29 May. The facility will be used for general corporate purposes and to refinance a £200m five year revolver from 1997. That loan backed the borrower's purchase of Ireland-based Fitzwilton Wellworth and drawings were made by Safeway Ireland, guaranteed by Safeway.