Search results for

MORGAN Stanley Dean Witter will shortly launch a $750m initial public offering of stock for Benckiser, the manufacturer of cleaning products, on the Amsterdam and New York stock exchanges. The flotation, which is sizeable by the standards of the Dutch primary market, follows a string of small-to-medium corporate deals on the Amsterdam stock exchange.

SBC WARBURG Dillon Read and Merrill Lynch have completed the sale of shares in regional newspaper publisher Newsquest, marking a rare IPO in the subdued UK primary equity market. With stockmarket conditions volatile, institutional investors are sitting on the sidelines. Many are divesting equity holdings in favour of cash or derivatives and are reluctant to buy new paper other than the top pharmaceutical, oil or bank stocks.

* ING Barings has begun marketing the Euromarket debut by Kazakhstan's Kazkommertsbank. Roadshows for the expected $100m three year Euro/144A offering were held in Frankfurt on Wednesday, Hartford/Boston today (Friday) and will continue in New York on Monday, Geneva on Tuesday and London on Wednesday. Launch is expected on Thursday, October 23. Pricing on the B2/B+ rated deal is likely to be set with reference to the trading spread on the $200m 9.25% December 1999 Euro/144A offering for the Ba3/BB- rated Republic of Kazakhstan.

* Fannie Mae Rating: Aaa/AAA

PACIFIC Construction priced a $75m convertible on Monday, marking one of the few Taiwanese issues this year not to hail from the electronics sector. Led by Bankers Trust, the deal came at the tight end of the coupon range in return for a more generous premium and yield to put.

12551

INTERNATIONAL debt issuance by Polish corporates looks set to take off in the coming months, with leading Polish airline LOT and construction firm Aral looking to tap the Eurobond market with debut issues. Polish telco Netia is due to tap the US high yield debt market next week with a maiden issue. LOT, the state owned carrier scheduled for partial privatisation in 1998, has invited bids for the ratings advisory and lead management role on a $100m issue. It will be the first international bond issue by an airline from central and eastern Europe. LOT is understood to have requested proposals for fixed and floating rate issuance, with a minimum tenor of three years up to maximum of 10.

LEAD managers Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and BBV Latinvest Securities jointly opened the way for Spanish corporates to access preference share capital in the US and international markets this week with a $700m offering from oil and gas group Repsol. The company, which became a fully privatised company earlier this year, became the first of its country's corporates to raise this type of finance. So far the market has been dominated by banks and other financial institutions using preference shares to boost capital ratios.

AS foreshadowed in Euroweek several months ago, Rhône Poulenc has launched a Ffr7bn capital increase to fund the 100% acquisition of its US subsidiary, Rhône-Poulenc Rorer (RPR). Société Générale is global co-ordinator in the sale of units in a global offering, with each unit representing one share with one warrant attached.

INVESTORS on three continents flocked to buy Credit Suisse First Boston's $5bn securitisation of corporate loans on Wednesday. Some syndicate banks raised quibbles about the transaction, but most agreed that the issue was largely a success, reflecting the huge appetite for collateralised loan obligations (CLOs).

MERRILL Lynch placed the second French franc credit card securitisation for MBNA this week, despite difficult market conditions. MBNA European Structured Offerings No 3 comprised Ffr3bn of triple-A rated five year bullets paying 5.25%. Priced at 99.947, the notes yield 19bp over the interpolated BTAN and OAT curve.

* Discover launched its third credit card securitisation of the year on Wednesday, less than a week after its second. Discover 1997-3 Credit Card sold $650m of senior seven year floaters, increased by lead manager Morgan Stanley Dean Witter from $500m.