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ELF ACQUITAINE demonstrated the remarkable depth of underwriting capabilities in the Euroloan market this week by winning a record Eu18bn of committed bank debt financing from four banks, to back its audacious Eu48bn cash and share counter bid for Totalfina.

ELF ACQUITAINE demonstrated the remarkable depth of underwriting capabilities in the Euroloan market this week by winning a record Eu18bn of committed bank debt financing from four banks, to back its audacious Eu48bn cash and share counter bid for Totalfina.

Brazil n Unibanco - União de Bancos Brasileiros SA (Cayman Islands)

The thriving European high yield debt market will host up to $3bn of new issues over the next two weeks as issuers line up to take advantage of the surge of UK and continental funds into the sector. The primary market saw little activity this week, but the calendar up to the August break is hectic. In the next few days, United Pan-Europe Communications (UPC) will launch at least $1.5bn of securities, and deals are also set to be completed for Versatel, Premier Brands, Pannon GSM, Iaxis, Canandaigua Wines and BSN.

n Abbey National Treasury Services Guarantor: Abbey National plc

The thriving European high yield debt market will host up to $3bn of new issues over the next two weeks as issuers line up to take advantage of the surge of UK and continental funds into the sector. The primary market saw little activity this week, but the calendar up to the August break is hectic. In the next few days, United Pan-Europe Communications (UPC) will launch at least $1.5bn of securities, and deals are also set to be completed for Versatel, Premier Brands, Pannon GSM, Iaxis, Canandaigua Wines and BSN.

n Allied Irish Banks Rating: A1/A-

FANNIE MAE completed the second exchange of outstanding bullet securities into its Benchmark Notes this week, in the process creating a $7.7bn 10 year bond. Fannie Mae offered to exchange 34 dollar denominated MTNs totalling $6.12bn into its 6.375% June 2009 Benchmark Note via arranger Bear Stearns. By the time the offer had closed, some $2.67bn - just over 40% of the bonds - had been exchanged.

CSFB AND Cazenove are to conclude the sale of stock in Freeserve this weekend. The flotation of the free UK internet service provider by parent group Dixons has sparked as much interest as it has controversy. The deal has been dogged with criticism from analysts arguing that Freeserve will be vulnerable to competition from US and other UK providers. But the keen levels of interest expressed by investors in its shares has followed through to a heavy oversubscription.

Investors are showing renewed interest in biotech stocks as the sector matures and profits increase. JP Morgan this week completed the IPO for one of the world's largest biotech companies, Genentech, raising $1.7bn. Swiss pharmaceuticals company Roche Holdings decided to float its Californian biotech subsidiary, having increased its holding in the company to 100% this June. Roche acquired a 70% stake in Genentech in 1990, and exercised a call option last month to purchase the remaining third of stock. Genentech originally went public in 1980.

Market commentary: Compiled by Jim Webber,

THE Eu300m five year term loan for the Republic of Hungary provoked an extraordinary range of opinions this week, especially among bankers who had bid for the mandate and therefore have determined opinions about what the pricing should be. Mandated arrangers ABN Amro, Central European Investment Bank, Commerzbank and WestLB are seeking arrangers to share the underwriting, and co-arrangers to come in on a take-and-hold basis.