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VODAFONE AIRTOUCH plc will in the next few days put the final touches to the mammoth credit that will play an integral part in its ground-breaking hostile bid for Mannesmann AG. Depending on the extent of existing debt of both parties, the loan could be as large as Eu30bn — the largest syndicated facility ever.

VODAFONE AIRTOUCH plc will in the next few days put the final touches to the mammoth credit that will play an integral part in its ground-breaking hostile bid for Mannesmann AG. Depending on the extent of existing debt of both parties, the loan could be as large as Eu30bn — the largest syndicated facility ever.

Connie Voldstad has left Merrill Lynch after 11 years to pursue other, as yet unspecified, opportunities. Merrill had tried to persuade him to take a new role at the bank, but his departure came as little surprise to market participants. Widely acknowledged as one of the architects of Merrill's capital markets hegemony, Voldstad was believed to have fallen foul of former Merrill management including Herb Allison. He was appointed to oversee the Wall Street committee set up to bail out hedge fund Long Term Capital Management.

Connie Voldstad has left Merrill Lynch after 11 years to pursue other, as yet unspecified, opportunities. Merrill had tried to persuade him to take a new role at the bank, but his departure came as little surprise to market participants. Widely acknowledged as one of the architects of Merrill's capital markets hegemony, Voldstad was believed to have fallen foul of former Merrill management including Herb Allison. He was appointed to oversee the Wall Street committee set up to bail out hedge fund Long Term Capital Management.

The dollar finally won its battle against the euro yesterday (Thursday), breaking parity against the European single currency for the first time since the new unit was introduced at the start of the year. Although not even a year old, niggling doubts over Europe's economic outlook have made the euro look tired compared to the US currency. Y2K and liquidity concerns have only served to boost the dollar, already rising on the back of the US economy's impressive performance.

Austria Lead arranger Merrill Lynch, with Bank of America as facility agent, have pencilled in early next year for the launch of the Eu120m senior leveraged debt syndication, which backs the LBO of Steiner Industries.

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter have won the mandate for a $300m Nasdaq listing for Malaysian cable and satellite TV operator Astro.

Halifax this week launched a non-cumulative preference share issue of £500m split into sterling and euro tranches, the first tier 1 capital issue for a UK financial institution since the Basel guidelines on capital were announced in October 1998. The ground-breaking transaction should spark a wave of issuance from other UK banks keen to take advantage of the new market. And given the volume of M&A activity in the banking sector - both in the UK and globally - the list of candidates is growing fast.

THE REPUBLIC of Argentina tried a different tack in the euro market this week by issuing a five year Eu200m floating rate note with a resetting coupon, its first FRN in the 28 times it has tapped European investors this year. The deal, led by Goldman Sachs, had a coupon of three month Euribor plus 510bp and was priced at 99.40 to yield three month Euribor plus 525bp.

Halifax this week launched a non-cumulative preference share issue of £500m split into sterling and euro tranches, the first tier 1 capital issue for a UK financial institution since the Basel guidelines on capital were announced in October 1998. The ground-breaking transaction should spark a wave of issuance from other UK banks keen to take advantage of the new market. And given the volume of M&A activity in the banking sector - both in the UK and globally - the list of candidates is growing fast.

Euroweek understands that Barclays Bank and Chase Manhattan have won the mandate to arrange a facility thought to be worth $400m for Hanson, the UK building materials company. The loan backs Hanson's £1.49bn recommended takeover bid for Pioneer International of Australia. When the bid was first launched bankers expected Hanson to borrow a larger amount, to refinance outstanding transactions. This now looks unlikely, and one banker suggested the two arrangers will consider keeping the entire facility to themselves.

In the wake of the $47bn merger of Swedish telecoms company Telia with Telenor of Norway, the newly formed entity -named Newtel - has plunged into the European frenzy of telecoms takeovers. HSBC has won the mandate to arrange a $2bn facility for Newtel, to back its $1.59bn hostile bid for Esat Telecom of Ireland. Newtel is offering $72 in cash for each Esat American depository share and $36 for each Esat share.