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The Brazilian government's plea for understanding from the international banking community paid off in New York this week when 11 US and Canadian banks agreed to maintain their credit exposure to the country through to the end of August this year. New central bank president, Arminio Fraga, said in New York yesterday that trade and interbank lines amounting to around $28bn would be maintained at least until the end of August.

BT ALEX Brown will roll over the existing financing that backed Nomura Principal Finance's purchase of William Hill from Brent Walker to finance CVC and Cinven's acquisition of the UK bookmaker that took place in February. Nomura's purchase of William Hill in 1997 was backed by £400m of senior leveraged debt that comprised a £175m seven year term loan priced at 175bp over Libor (term 'A'), a £100m eight year term loan at 200bp over Libor (term 'B'), a £75m nine year term loan at 225bp (term 'C') and a £50m working capital revolver priced at 175bp but with a non-utilisation fee of 75bp.

The province of Buenos Aires this week issued a $150m three year bullet deal, its first in the dollar market in four years, but had to pay a huge concession over the sovereign curve to compensate for the small size of the transaction. The offering, led by Salomon Smith Barney, was originally talked at $100m with a yield of 12.5% to 12.75% and was ultimately launched at a yield of 12.5%, or 744bp over Treasuries.

Cades will next week launch a July 2013 inflation linked bond of around Eu1bn, complementing France's 2009 OATi and further enhancing the French agency's quasi-sovereign status. Arranged in co-ordination with the Trésor, the agency's 14 year issue is set to be followed by even longer dated issuance by France in the future.

* Commerzbank AG

SHARES IN UK property company Canary Wharf will be priced at between £2.80 and £3.50, according to the pathfinder prospectus published this week. The flotation, to be completed later this months, is being lead managed by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. The indicative range values the company at between £1.4bn to £1.7bn before 160m new shares have been sold. After the sale, the group will be worth between £1.8bn and £2.33bn, less than bankers' initial expectations of a value nearer £2.6bn.

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Corporates have become the darlings of the European bond market. New issuance is running at record highs as investors look for paper yielding decent spreads at a time when government bond yields are low. The birth of the euro has created the opportunity for the corporate bond market to expand rapidly, providing a genuine alternative to the dollar for borrowers and a new asset class for investors. Several companies have already tapped the burgeoning investor demand by issuing large, liquid bonds in the new currency, and the queue of would-be issuers is lengthening all the time. But the syndicated loan market still provides powerful competition to the bond market. And many European companies are so cash rich that they have little need to visit the capital markets anytime soon. Will 1999 be the year when the European corporate bond market finally takes off? Or are investment bankers’ expectations running ahead of reality? Charles Olivier reports.

DEUTSCHE Bank is sole underwriting a bridge financing of Eu1bn for the Danish food products and packaging company Danisco. Bankers say it is the largest ever loan from the Nordic region to be underwritten by a single bank. The facility was launched into syndication on March 9 and around 10 banks should join the deal. A presentation for senior managers will be held next week.

CSFB HAS been appointed as global co-ordinator for the forthcoming sale of stock in Matav, the Hungarian national operator, after a particularly hard fought battle for the prestigious mandate. The deal should materialise in the second quarter of the year, if market conditions stabilise. Given the volatility surrounding both developed and emerging markets, the deal is likely to be executed on a swift timetable - possibly through an accelerated marketed offering to minimise the effect on Matav's outstanding shares.

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Global co-ordinators Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan will launch the sale of stock in Debitel next week. Debitel is the largest German telecoms service provider, with activities in mobile, fixed-line and internet services. The group will be spun off from the recently merged Daimler-Chrysler Services and the local retail group, Metro Holding. The two sellers are offering around 20% of Debitel's equity capital to international and local equity investors in a deal which will be completed by the end of March.