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LIR Energy, a funding arm of the Brazilian utility Light Servicos de Eletricidade (Light), has signed a $300 million global MTN programme. The programme arranger and sole dealer is Santander Investment. The unrated programme marks the first Brazilian issuer to enter the market since November 1999. A $150 million debut public deal has already been launched. The bookrunners off the note were ABN Amro and Santander Investment. The launch of the deal, marketed at the end of May, was abandoned due to a lack of investor demand. The note was not promoted again for the rescheduled September launch. Paulo Renato Marques, investor relations head at Light, says: "We already had overdemand for the paper and so did not need to go on a roadshow." The programme is the 15th South American utility to join the market since Financiera Energetica Nacional in 1993 and is the seventh utility to join the Euro-MTN market this year. Light, an electricity generation and distribution company supplies 80% of the energy needed by the state of Rio de Janeiro. It supplies approximately eight per cent of Brazil's electricity.

Take up during the general syndication of the Eu3bn credit supporting the acquisition of 55% of Deutsche Telekom's cable assets in North Rhine-Westphalia lead sponsored by Callahan Associates has proved a disappointment. Mandated lead banks Citibank/ SSSB, Bank of America, Chase and Dresdner wrapped up the sell-down this week after a long period in the market.

Market report Compiled by Frank Hracs, TD Securities, Toronto

Commerzbank Securities recently launched a capital guaranteed bond linked to the Reuters CorpTop performance index, selling the instrument to a variety of insurance firms, fund managers, and a small number of retail accounts. The Eu250m deal matures in September 2005 and was priced at par. The minimum redemption is par and the return will be calculated as 90% of the performance of the index.

US energy company Enron raised $750m and Eu315m this week with the second issue from its highly innovative financing vehicle, Osprey Trust. Osprey offers investors a complex package of Enron related risks at ratings of Baa2/BBB/BBB - one notch lower than the company's senior unsecured debt.

Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter were awarded on Wednesday the mandate for the IPO of Frankfurt airport, Flughafen Frankfurt /Main (FAG), which is expected to raise up to $1bn. The banks won the appointment in a pitch against seven other contestants. The appointment of global co-ordinators has been keenly awaited since CEO Wilhelm Bender made it clear more than a year ago that he wanted float at least 25% of the company. The issue will follow the Eu5bn IPO of Deutsche Post, for which the syndicate briefing takes place today (Friday). In that sale, government holding company KfW will offer shares to retail investors in seven countries across Europe.

Susanne Webber shocked the equity markets in Germany this week by deciding to leave Deutsche Bank to become head of Dresdner Kleinwort Benson's equity syndicate. The move is a blow to Deutsche, where Webber has been for six years, but will come as a relief to Dresdner, whose equity capital markets team in Frankfurt has been ripped apart since the merger with Deutsche collapsed in April. The losses of Paul van Issum, co-head of the equity syndicate, to DLJ and Rudolf Vossen and his Neuer Markt team to JP Morgan have been particularly damaging. "Especially given that we lost Paul van Issum just a couple of months ago," said Andy Edmond, global head of the equity syndicate at Dresdner, "I am pleased to be able to rebuild so quickly."

Hungary After a protracted syndication, the $350m five year revolver for Mol has closed. Bankers looking at the deal commented that the margin of 40bp over Libor had failed to attract a high profile arranger group. However, the deal closed fully funded.

Argentina * Banco Hipotecario SA

The European leveraged buy-out market looks set for a burst of activity as the final quarter of the year gets underway. The quarter promises to bring not only a greater volume of deals to Europe's growing investor base for leveraged assets but also some of the largest transactions seen in Europe. Two big UK LBO deals were announced this week. The first is the £700m acquisition of Rank Group's UK holiday businesses by the privately held caravan parks operator, Bourne Leisure. Barclays Capital has the mandate to arrange the debt financing for the transaction which is understood to comprise some £650m of senior debt as well as a mezzanine tranche. Barclays is expected to approach a select group of banks for sub-underwriting positions over the next week.