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NATIONAL GRID, the acquisitive UK power transmission group, this week raised £1.2bn through the sale of one third of its 74.3% stake in Energis, the telecommunications group. The divestment was praised as a shrewd move on the part of the vendor, taking advantage of the buoyant market for telecom stocks. Many telecom shares have risen by up to 40% since September, on the back of the combined recovery in global stockmarkets and the strong wave of global consolidation sweeping through the industry. The latest and largest deal involves the $62bn purchase by Vodafone of AirTouch.

MORGAN STANLEY Dean Witter is to lead the sale of stock in Equant, the Atlanta and Amsterdam-based data communications carrier. The US firm has the books on this prized mandate after leading the group's $810m IPO last year with Salomon Smith Barney. The sale should raise around $3.5bn based on the current valuation attached to the company's shares.

Angola Warburg Dillon Read reports that general syndication of the $500m oil contract pre-export financing for Sociedade Nacional de Combustiveis de Angola (Sonangol) is progressing smoothly and that retail should close on time on February 9.

THE LATIN new issue market has been left in tatters, with major issuers abandoning plans for euro and dollar denominated issues and underwriters predicting little chance of any issuance in the foreseeable future now that Brazil has descended into a full blown currency crisis. Argentina had been planning a euro deal for this week to take advantage of a rally on the back of Brazil's decision to float the Real last Friday.

ARGENTINA is taking steps towards developing a monetary treaty between the US and Latin America that would rid the latter of its currency volatility and become the Americas' equivalent of European monetary union. "What we are proposing is an alternative somewhere between dollarization and an Americas-wide monetary union," said central bank president, Pedro Pou, yesterday (Thursday).

CSFB, DRESDNER Kleinwort Benson and BancBoston will brave abysmal market conditions next week and attempt to sell $240m-$260m of stock in Argentina's indebted mortgage bank Banco Hipotecario. Faced with the Brazilian currency crisis and a further dollarisation of Argentina, the underwriters this week finished roadshows in the US and Europe and are looking to price the deal on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Hong Kong Co-ordinating arrangers ABN Amro Bank (Hong Kong) and Development Bank of Singapore (Hong Kong) are in the market with a HK$1bn five year fundraising for Sino Land through special purpose company Cheer City Properties.

Australia ANZ Investment Bank and National Australia Bank have been mandated to arrange a $150m eight year acquisition financing for the Blair Athol Coal Mine.

Japan Asset backed securities:

* Bayerische Landesbank and a French non-bank institution acted as temporary investors in Crédit Foncier de France's Ffr9bn (Eu1.37bn) mortgage securitisation, completed just before the year end. Crédit Foncier now plans to repackage the units issued by the fonds commun de créances (French securitisation vehicle), by arranging their sale to a special purpose company that will issue billets de trésorerie (domestic CP). Balaba and the French institution will be co-arrangers, and the repackaging is intended to begin in the first half of this year.

JOINT bookrunners Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan began roadshows this week for the second securitisation of UK nursing home leases by NHP -- formerly Nursing Home Properties. Care Homes No 2 will offer three 24 year bullet tranches with fixed rate coupons, totalling £265m. The £180m senior note will be rated triple-A by Duff & Phelps and Standard & Poor's -- beneath that are £60m of single-A rated mezzanine bonds and £25m of triple-B debt.

INVESTORS will get a rare chance to buy a public collateralised loan obligation backed by loans to European corporates in early February, when HypoVereinsbank brings Eu2.126bn of bonds securitising loans from its Luxembourg branch. Lead managers Goldman Sachs and HypoVereinsbank will roadshow Geldilux 99-1 Ltd in London next week.