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WARBURG DILLON Read this week executed the £45.6m sale of stock for UK merchant bank Close Brothers, financing its £47m take-over of Rea Brothers Group, the private banking and asset management company. The lead manager fully underwrote the deal at a tight (though undisclosed) spread and placed the stock in a matter of hours.

Spreads remained under pressure across all markets this week, a situation exacerbated by US Fed chairman Alan Greenspan's hawkish comments in his Humphrey-Hawkins testimony. Greenspan suggested that the Fed would raise interest rates at the first sign of higher inflation. Although he signalled that an increase was not imminent, the market is now anticipating at least one more rate rise this year.

France Barclays and Crédit Lyonnais have closed general syndication of the Eu400m reducing revolving credit for Framatome. Appetite was strong and an oversubscription was achieved. However, the borrower has decided against an increase and lenders will be scaled back

n General Motors Acceptance Corp

HEIDELBERGER Zement is the latest borrower to tap the hectic European lending market for a jumbo deal. It has decided to raise a multicurrency Eu2bn credit that will back its acquisition of Scancem, the Swedish cement producer. Heidelberger was tipped to use the syndicated loan market in May when it first announced its acquisition of Scancem.

South Africa Standard Bank of South Africa has received an excellent response to the general syndication of its $225m 364 day revolving credit.

IN A NORMAL week in the Euroloan market, Air Liquide's £4.3bn senior debt facility backing its acquisition of 50% of British Oxygen Company would command bankers' attention outright. However, following Elf Acquitaine's bold counter bid for Totalfina, a move that involves a breathtaking Eu18bn of underwritten senior debt, Air Liquide's money raising efforts have been shunted into second place, in terms of lenders' interests.

IN A NORMAL week in the Euroloan market, Air Liquide's £4.3bn senior debt facility backing its acquisition of 50% of British Oxygen Company would command bankers' attention outright. However, following Elf Acquitaine's bold counter bid for Totalfina, a move that involves a breathtaking Eu18bn of underwritten senior debt, Air Liquide's money raising efforts have been shunted into second place, in terms of lenders' interests.

LEAD ARRANGER and co-ordinator ANZ Investment Bank has closed oversubscribed and signed the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier project financing and the first LNG carrier financing, on any basis, in India. The deal is the $165m 10 year shipping facility for the Enron Mitsui OSK Lines LNG carrier. The transaction is also one of the fastest project financings in India - a notoriously slow market for project finance. ANZ was mandated for the deal last November, and had signed the loan agreement and brought in senior banks by February 12 this year.

SALOMON Smith Barney has wrapped up the co-underwriting phase of the Ffr5.4bn senior leveraged debt backing the creation of Capital BSN Emballage SA out of the merger of Gerresheimer's and Danone's glass packaging business. Appetite proved to be immense, with 17 banks joining the deal committing Ffr750m for an upfront fee of 112.5bp.

Hong Kong Co-ordinating arrangers HSBC Investment Bank Asia and BOCI Capital have launched the HK$2.2bn 3-1/2 year financing for Kowloon Properties. Bank of China (Hong Kong), Hang Seng Bank and HongkongBank joined as arrangers and underwrote the entire facility between them.

n ACE Funding Series 1999-1 RESIMAC MBS Amount: Eu175m