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The capital markets’ infatuation with fast growing telecom companies was graphically underlined this week when Eu2.125bn was raised by three operators — Versatel, Jazztel and Colt Telecom — in just 48 hours.

GRUPO NUEVO IUSACELL (GNI), the holding company of Mexico's second largest cellular phone concern, this week issued a $225m seven year transaction, becoming the first of a handful of Latin corporates hoping to tap the dollar market before year end. The deal, led by Chase and Salomon Smith Barney, was priced at par to yield 14.25% or 804bp over Treasuries, compared with talk of 14.5%.

SPANISH telecommunications group Jazztel took advantage of the positive tone in the European high yield market this week to launch the largest ever triple-C rated offering denominated in euros. Joint lead managed by Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch, the issue was initially talked at Eu150m, upped to Eu300m during price talk and emerged as a Eu400m issue on pricing. Despite being more than doubled in size the 10 year issue was priced at the tight end of the price range, due to the strong demand generated by the transaction.

The capital markets’ infatuation with fast growing telecom companies was graphically underlined this week when Eu2.125bn was raised by three operators — Versatel, Jazztel and Colt Telecom — in just 48 hours.

ABN Amro Rothschild will launch one of the earliest new issues in France next year with the Eu150m sale of stock in Kaufman & Broad, the home building and construction group. The company, which is a subsidiary of a US listed group of the same name, is well known within the domestic market. The deal will involve the sale of both new shares by the company and secondary shares by the parent group and will result in a full market listing in the main market.

More details should emerge today (Friday) on the DM1.5bn bridge loan for Kirch Gruppe after potential arrangers attend a bank meeting. Lead arranger Chase Manhattan has underwritten the deal, having won the mandate to arrange the loan and further financing from Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. Earlier this week BSkyB announced it would invest DM2.9bn in cash and shares, in KirchPayTV, giving it a 24% stake. This additional equity improves Kirch's prospects in the loan and bond markets. The company's aggressive leverage ratios have been cited as part of the reason for the failure of previous transactions.

KPN STUNNED the loan market this week by securing a Eu13bn bridge facility to back the Dutch telecoms company's bid for E-Plus. The bid is being made in co-operation with BellSouth of the US. The transaction is due to be launched today (Friday) into a market that thought it had seen the last of 1999's superjumbo deals in Vodafone's record Eu30bn facility.

Brazil Arrangers Citibank and Banco Santander Central Hispano have completed syndication of a $100m 364 day term loan for Citibank Brazil.

Nigeria The senior syndication of the $160m Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) shipping project financing achieved an impressive 100% hit rate with the 13 banks invited to come into the deal. The arranger, Credit Suisse First Boston, has asked these banks to underwrite $35m each for final takes of $20m apiece.

EL SITIO, an Argentine-based internet network, stunned the Latin equity new issue market yesterday (Thursday) with a blow-out $131.2m initial public offering, by far the most successful IPO from the region in several years. The company's 8.2m ADSs were priced at $16 on Thursday evening, above the $13 to $15 price range, which was itself increased on Thursday morning from an original $11 to $13 range.

Argentina this week squeezed out the year's last remaining demand for emerging market issues with the launch of a Eu100m addition to its Eu300m 10% five year deal done in November. The add-on, led by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, was issued despite a holiday in Italy, where the bulk of interest in Argentine paper usually resides.