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GOLDMAN Sachs and Cariplo have completed the Lit1.5tr ($563m) sale of shares in the north Italian energy group Azienda Energetica Milanese (AEM), in the largest IPO to be hosted by the Italian market this year. The lead managers successfully completed the sale of the shares at Lit1,670 -- at the top end of the indicated price range -- overcoming some of the antipathy towards privatisation previously exhibited in the country.

RENEWED interest in the US new issue market was symbolised this week by the relaunch and pricing, on Tuesday, of the IPO for National Equipment Services. The deal had been postponed by bookrunner Salomon Smith Barney on June 11 following one of the worst weeks experienced so far this year on Nasdaq.

THE PORTUGUESE market continues to produce a wide variety of equity for international and local investors and analysts say that Lisbon is attracting strong levels of interest from buyers looking for the next emerged European stockmarket. "Although the market has put in a good performance with the rest of the continent, there are still quite a few undervalued companies out there," said one salesman.

EUROPEAN vendors have seized upon accelerated offerings to divest stakes in a variety of industries in highly valued stockmarkets. Said one equity capital markets chief at a European house: "It makes sense to use this system when the markets are so strong but when we have seen so much volatility." Under an accelerated sales process, institutional investors are marketed over a short time period, may see or talk to the management of the company whose shares are being sold, and are canvassed for their view on price.

MORGAN Stanley Dean Witter is to run the books for a £1bn fund raising for the alternative telephony group, Colt. Colt's latest capital increase will combine the equivalent issue of £200m in straight equity, £200m in Deutschmark-denominated high yield debt and £200m in convertible finance. The terms on each of the equity-linked and high yield debt have not been formalised, although indicated terms will be revealed next week. The company has chosen DM-denominated vehicles as the nearest proxy to the Euro.

ING Barings notched up two successes this week with the sale of stock in Petroplus International, the local Dutch group which is concerned with storage, distribution and refining crude oil, and the sale of shares in Scala Business Solutions. The lead manager priced the Petroplus shares this week at the top end of the indicated price range of Dfl 22 to Dfl 27, and sold 3.4m shares to investors on a book which was more than 10 times covered by the domestic retail market alone.

MERRILL Lynch has launched the sale of stock in EFG Hermes, the diversified Egyptian finance group, aiming to buck months of bearish sentiment toward Middle Eastern equity markets. Recent stock sales such as that for the Lebanese construction group, Solidère, have been postponed on the back of declining interest in the emerging markets; bankers hope the appearance of EFG signals a recovery in sentiment toward the region.

THIS week's cancellation of the sale of stock in Koç Holdings through lead managers Goldman Sachs and Global Securities provided a sharp reminder that the appetite of emerging market investors has been sharply reduced. Several large institutional buyers are sitting on substantial dollar losses after their investments in the developing markets of central and Mediterranean Europe have been eroded this year. The deal was pulled ostensibly because the book of demand (which was reported to be twice oversubscribed) could not be reconciled to the issuer's requirements for price. As one of the most prestigious companies in Turkey, Koç was expected to appeal to a range of accounts as a proxy for the country. Koç's activities are spread among many areas of consumer and manufacturing business.

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THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION this week capitalised on news of a long awaited financial agreement with the IMF to launch its most ambitious international bond financing yet, an exchange and bond offering likely to total at least $3bn in size.