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Goldman Sachs and SG have exercised 90% of the greenshoe on the Eu716m convertible for Thomson Multimedia (TMM), which was priced a the end of last week. The stock has had a tough time since the Eu2.3bn equity offer, falling during a turbulent week for technology stocks.

The volatile market backdrop in the telecoms sector helped determine the financing structure agreed this week between Enel and Vodafone for the acquisition of Italian alternative telecoms operator Infostrada, with Enel agreeing to issue Eu5.5bn of bonds directly to the UK mobile phone operator for half the equity consideration. A more orthodox financing plan - issuing bonds in the public markets - could have been risky given the volatility in the high yield telecoms sector and the mass of supply being forced through by high grade telecoms borrowers.

Spain Ono, Spain's largest provider of phone, television and internet services, priced at the top end of the Eu5.2-Eu6.5 range for retail investors this week. Demand from retail investors for the Eu325m offering was 10 times greater than the number of shares on offer.

The fifth Italian signing of the year is set for next week. Banca Agricola Mantovana (BAM) will sign its euro1.5 billion ($1.44 billion) Euro-MTN facility via BNP Paribas Group. Its aim is to ease the pressure on its domestic accounts, which fund all its financial needs. A roadshow is not planned, but Mauro Scalfi, chief financial officer at BAM, says: "Our group already has programmes with Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS) and Banca Toscana. BAM's activity will therefore be closely coordinated with theirs." An inaugural of around euro200 million is expected. BMPS is the parent company of BAM and Banca Toscana. There has recently been speculation on merger plans between these three banks. Scalfi says: "I cannot comment on that, but I can say that this new programme is very similar to those of BMPS and Banca Toscana in terms of flexibility and documentation." BMPS has two programmes in place. The most recent was signed in February of this year and is arranged by ABN Amro. It has a ceiling of euro5 billion. Moody's rates this facility A1. BAM will become the twenty-first private Italian bank to enter the Euro-MTN market. And BAM's A rating from Standard & Poor's does not mark it out from the crowd. But Scalfi is confident they can compete. He comments: "We have a very experienced parent company in BMPS, and we think that the scarcity value of our paper will be a plus point for the investors." BAM intends to issue notes with maturities ranging up to 10 years. The dealers are BMPS, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Salomon Smith Barney, Warburg Dillon Read and the arranger.

An investor panel at the Fitch-sponsored New Europe Conference on Tuesday concluded that the "first wave" EU candidates will not produce easy gains for investors hoping to exploit spread tightening prior to accession, expected in 2005. Ingrid Iversen, assistant director in the emerging markets debt and currency team at Rothschild Asset Management, said: "If they expect appreciation up to membership, they are buying for the wrong reasons."

France Télécom has mandated Barclays Capital, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter to lead manage its Eu5bn equivalent bond offering. France Télécom is looking to issue Eu1bn equivalent in sterling together with offerings totalling Eu4bn.

The escalation of violence in Israel, rising oil prices and pervasive equity market weakness widened credit spreads sharply at the end of the week. The 10 year swap market was closing on Thursday (yesterday) at around 121bp over 5.75% August 2010 Treasury. This was off the high of the day, which was 123bp over, but still some 7bp wider than a week ago. The five year was closing at 101.5bp over the 6.75% May 2005 Treasury, while two years swaps were around 77bp bid.

Grant Johnson has left Credit Suisse First Boston along with two of his colleagues following the bank's merger with DLJ. Officials at CSFB said that Johnson's position, with those of Bob Kerr and Tom Mulligan, had been made redundant. Johnson's last working day at the bank was Wednesday. He had been at CSFB for three years as head of the syndicated loans team and had overseen the expansion of the team and the increased focus on leveraged financing. He was reputably on one of the highest salaries in the European loan market.

ABN Amro Rothschild, Goldman Sachs and Schroder Salomon Smith Barney are expected to begin premarketing KPN's Eu4bn-Eu6bn equity and equity linked financing shortly despite worsening sentiment toward the telecoms sector. Roughly half of the total is expected to be convertible bonds with the rest from the sale of shares. Earlier this week, KPN made the unusual announcement that the deal would be downsized from the expected Eu8bn-Eu10bn.

Allgemeine HypothekenBank has increased its euro3 billion ($2.60 billion) multi-currency CP programme to euro5 billion. It has also added ABN Amro and ING Bank NV to the dealer panel.

Another UK utility is to tap the Euro-MTN market in order to raise funds to satisfy increasingly strict regulatory requirements. Anglian Water (Anglian) signed a euro1.5 billion ($1.45 billion ) Euro-MTN programme on Wednesday, March 22. Barclays Capital has won the arrangership, as first rumoured in MTNWeek, issue 157. All UK utilities, since the beginning of 2000, have been told to cut their customers' bills as well as undertake capital expenditure programmes. Many have faced ratings downgrades and all have had to raise extra funds. Jane Pilcher, group treasurer at Anglian, says: "There's been a period of uncertainty over the last 18 months. But now the regulator has published its price review at least we have entered a stable landscape." Anglian has to undertake a capital expenditure programme totalling £

China China Mobile (Hong Kong) arrangers Bank of China and China Construction Bank have signed a Rmb12.5bn dual tranche facility this week. Funds are being raised via wholly owned subsidiary China Mobile (Shenzhen).