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IN THE WAKE of the successful sale of shares in Ryannair, the Irish low cost carrier, Virgin Group has announced plans to float its long haul airline, Virgin Atlantic. Founder Richard Branson has considered selling some of the airline in the past but analysts say that, if the float goes ahead this year, it is the right time to obtain the maximum valuation from international institutions.

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MEXICAN consortium Conproca offered high yield buyers spreads they proved unable to refuse last Friday on a $370m 12 year bond issue that was the lynchpin in a $1.52bn capital raising for Mexico's biggest project financing this year. Racing against a June 30 closing deadline for the $804m 10 year bank loan and a $340m export credit loan for Conproca, lead managers BT Alex Brown priced the 12 year final maturity bond with a yield of 12% -- over the 11.5% price talk and 350bp wider on a swapped to floating basis than the Libor plus 200bp pricing on the loan.

HOPES OF A successful euro debut next week for the Province of Buenos Aires were boosted yesterday (Thursday) when Moody's Investors Service upgraded the issuer's foreign currency rating to Ba3 from B1. News of the upgrade came as lead manager Chase was poised to announce price talk for the Eu100m four year deal and preparing a launch date for Monday or Tuesday, despite continued nervousness in the markets.

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* Land Sachsen-Anhalt Rating: Aa3/AA-

WHILE DOLLAR syndicate desks twiddle their thumbs -- and many are resigned to staying that way until after the summer break -- European currency desks are working at full speed, especially in Deutschmarks where oversupply at the long end is now a serious concern. One of the few hopes on the dollar front rests with Fannie Mae which should announce its plans for the next benchmark note in the coming week. But leading underwriters dismissed rumours of an imminent 10 year dollar bond from a European sovereign; Spain and Norway were mentioned as possible candidates.

MICHAEL CLANCY is to join Dresdner Kleinwort Benson as global head of credit spread businesses, turning the likelihood of a radical shake-up in the bank's fixed income operations into a near certainty. Dresdner announced at the end of last week that TJ Lim was to join as co-head of global markets alongside Frankfurt-based Erich Pohl and Heinrich Linz, a move which, Euroweek understands, prompted Peter Luthy, global co-head of the credit spread business, to fly to Frankfurt to confront Leonard Fischer, the Dresdner board member responsible for investment banking.

Asset backed securities: * Colonnade 98-1

Azerbaijan The EBRD and IFC are set to syndicate $200m of 'B' loans for the Azerbaijan International Operating Consortium (AIOC) which is developing oil and gas reserves around the Caspian Sea. Both the EBRD and the IFC are also providing $200m through their 'A' loan structures.

* Allgemeine Hypothekenbank AG Rating: A2/A

BOOKRUNNER Deutsche Bank will next week launch the first 'pan Euro' bond -- a transaction designed to remove the barriers between domestic and Eurobond issues. The deal will be for triple-A rated Electricité de France and will be a 10 or 12 year issue of up to Eu1bn. CDC Marchés will be joint lead and the deal should emerge at a spread in the low to mid-teens over OATs.