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Speculation intensified over the UK food industry this week as Candover, among other equity sponsors, emerged as a likely bidder for Unigate, the chilled foods company that is selling its dairy business to Dairy Crest. Candover has been one of the most active equity sponsors in the UK over the past three years. Recent leveraged buy-outs include: the £183m buy-out of Earls Court and Olympia Ltd where the £122m debt financing was arranged by Credit Suisse First Boston; the £210m buy-out of the nightclubs and bars operations of First Leisure (Whizalpha), where Lehman Brothers arranged the £180m debt financing; and the extremely successful buy-out of Clondalkin, where Warburg Dillon Read and Allied Irish Banks arranged the Eu420m bank debt package.

THE LATEST French jumbo facility to hit the loan market shows a return to the slim pricing common to this market where the borrower has been traditionally able to lean on domestic and relationship banks. Carrefour, the supermarket chain, is tapping the market for a Eu1.5bn five year revolver through arrangers BNP Paribas, Barclays and Citibank.

The Hellenic Republic stormed the Euromarkets this week with a hugely oversubscribed Eu2.5bn May 2010 benchmark that simultaneously offered investors a final chance to buy Greek sovereign risk in euros ahead of the country joining Emu, while positioning the republic closer than ever to Euroland. First talked in the high 50s over Bunds, the transaction was priced at 53bp over by leads Credit Suisse First Boston, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and National Bank of Greece International.

THE FIRST BOND deal from Indonesia since the Asian financial crisis is almost certain to be launched next week, with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter believed to have been mandated for a benchmark offering by an affiliate of Asia Pulp&Paper (APP).

The Hellenic Republic stormed the Euromarkets this week with a hugely oversubscribed Eu2.5bn May 2010 benchmark that simultaneously offered investors a final chance to buy Greek sovereign risk in euros ahead of the country joining Emu, while positioning the republic closer than ever to Euroland. First talked in the high 50s over Bunds, the transaction was priced at 53bp over by leads Credit Suisse First Boston, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and National Bank of Greece International.

Market report: Compiled by Jim Webber,

THE REPUBLIC of Turkey last Friday (February 18) enjoyed a blow-out success on its return to the Japanese bond markets with a ¥35bn three year Samurai issue via Nomura. Originally targeted at an issue size of ¥25bn, the transaction was marketed on a 3.25%-3.5% coupon range, implying a spread of 250bp-275bp over yen Libor.

INTERNET plays dominated new French issuance this week with two rival online brokerages and a community site lining up IPOs. SG and JP Morgan will launch premarketing for the spin-off of the French bank internet brokerage arm Fimitex in a Eu150m-Eu200m IPO on Monday.

What a busy time at JP Morgan, the house which has always promised to conquer the world, but is still waiting for a supply of live ammunition. Just to set the record straight, we do have lots of friends among JP Morgan's best and brightest up and coming young thrusters, who are sharpening their swords behind closed doors and waiting for the revolution to come - let's hope that day happens before the bank receives a hostile bid. It is only among JP Morgan's upper ranks where we are greeted with a wall of silence. Maybe they just don't like to talk? In the meantime, however, please be assured that we are not losing a moment's sleep.

JP Morgan (books) and SG have won the mandate to arrange a deal worth about Eu500m for French advertising company Havas Advertising. The debt will be used to support the borrower's acquisition of Snyder Communications of the US. The acquisition is to be carried out as a Eu2.1bn share swap, making the combined company the fourth largest advertising firm in the world, worth about $6.5bn. The proceeds of the loan will be used to refinance the target's existing debt, and should be launched in the next two weeks.

KREDITANSTALT für Wiederaufbau priced its first ever global dollar bond yesterday (Thursday), a $2bn five year that marks another step in the agency's bid to strengthen its position outside Europe by playing on its status as German sovereign risk. But the agency faced an uphill struggle as dollar swap spreads, already volatile for several weeks, widened between launch on Wednesday and pricing on Thursday as US stockmarkets fell 2% intraday. Within an hour of pricing, the spread widened from 61.5bp over the 5.875% November 2004 UST to 64bp over.