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MERRILL LYNCH and ABN AMRO have been appointed as joint lead managers to the privatisation of Australia's Totalisator Agency Board (TAB), with Deutsche Morgan Grenfell on board as international co-lead manager. Bankers Trust is adviser to the New South Wales government on the A$1bn IPO for the gambling operation, expected to be listed in April or May. The deal is the first privatisation in seven years by the NSW government, said one analyst, but adds to a bulging pipeline of deals from the country.

* Hong Kong's first IPO of the year received a lukewarm response from investors who subscribed to only 42% of the shares on offer for electrical appliance distributor Q-Tech Holdings. The company made 67m shares available last week at HK80 cents a share, of which 60.3m shares were offered to the public and 6.7m on a preferential basis to employees. The stock will be begin trading January 12.

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THE Airplanes Group has filed with the SEC for a $850m bond, intended to refinance part of a $4bn securitisation of aircraft leases for GPA. Lead managed by Morgan Stanley, with Lehman Brothers and Salomon Smith Barney as co-leads, the bonds form the first part of the planned refinancing schedule of the Airplanes securitisation, the deal that brought aircraft leasing company GPA back from the brink of bankruptcy in March 1996. To be launched by March 16, the bonds will refinance a 'class A' double A rated two year soft bullet floating rate note; although the SEC registration bars GPA and Morgan Stanley from discussing terms of the refinancing, it appears the company and its advisors have a wide range of options open to them.

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* US pharmaceutical company Merck has established a $1.5bn Euro-MTN programme. Signed on December 18, the programme was arranged by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. Joining Morgan Stanley in the dealer group are ABN AMRO Hoare Govett, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Nikko Europe, Merrill Lynch, Paribas and SBC Warburg.

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* Bayerische Vereinsbank AG Rating: Aa1

Canada A bank meeting will be held next week for the co-agent banks invited into the C$3.7bn Alliance Pipeline project. Arrangers Bank of Montreal, National Westminster Bank of Canada, Bank of Nova Scotia and Chase Manhattan Bank of Canada will run the meeting with the 11 sponsors.

Co-head of loan syndication Richard Barker and director of origination Oliver Blount have left NatWest Markets. It is believed both bankers have departed without offers of jobs at other banks. Declan McGrath has been promoted from co-head of loan syndication to managing director and global head of syndications.

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IN WHAT looks set to be one of the most keenly sought corporate deals in the early part of 1998, Chase has launched syndication of £1.5bn of debt facilities for Reuters Holdings Plc. Selldown was launched late yesterday (Thursday) by Chase, which has structured the deal as a £1bn 364 day credit facility and a £500m five year revolving credit.