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>* DePfa Rating: Aa3

WITH THE US market moving through 9,500 for the first time Wall Street's investment banks are set to launch a wide variety of new equity issues in the first weeks of 1999. The 223 point surge in the broad market was fuelled by investors bidding up hi-tech and blue chip stocks on the back of the merger negotiations between AirTouch and Vodafone. Nasdaq, too, benefited from a surge in activity by gaining ground to more than 2,320.

Norway Bankgesellschaft Berlin has signed the $95m (increased from $75m) four year less one day revolving credit for Sparebanken Rogaland.

WESTLB (bookrunner), ABN Amro, Deutsche and Warburg Dillon Read have launched the DM1.7bn facility backing Swiss Air's purchase of a 49.9% stake in LTU to co-arrangers. Euroweek hears that the arrangers are offering an underwriting fee of between 10bp and 15bp. The debt package consists of a DM1.2bn bridge facility that carries a margin of 50bp over Libor and a commitment fee of 25bp, and a DM500m eight year term loan that carries a margin of 125bp, has a one year grace period and will be repaid in 14 semi-annual installments.

THE FRENCH government is set to launch the sale of Air France in the next two weeks. The Trésor is expected to sell some 50% of the group through lead managers SG and Banque Indosuez Agricole in a deal that could be worth over Ffr5bn (Eu765m). The lead managers have this week been sending out invitations to international and domestic investment banks to pitch for co-lead and co-manager positions, with syndicate desks in London and Paris reporting that they are entering a remarkably busy period as lead managers select syndicates in advance of the rush to execute new business.

* CIBC World Markets has hired Jonathan Rowland as an executive director in acquisition finance, reporting to Christopher Rist, managing director and head of European acquisition finance and LBO sponsor coverage in London. Rowland was formerly at Barclays Capital, where he was a director in leveraged finance and head of its US financial buyer group. He takes up his position on June 1.

BARCLAYS, Den Danske and Deutsche Bank launched syndication of the debt package backing Emap's acquisition of Peterson Companies on Wednesday. Co-arrangers are offered 50bp for $75m tickets, lead managers 30bp for $50m and managers 20bp for $25m.

UBS, acting through Warburg Dillon Read, has been mandated by Sociedade Nacional de Combustiveis de Angola (Sonangol) to arrange a fully underwritten $500m oil contract pre-export financing. The deal is one of Africa's most valuable trade finance transactions. Indeed, with the Ghanaian Cocoa Board's annual pre-export deal, it is one of the few sub-Saharan loans that lenders want to be seen in.

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General Electric Capital Corp Rating: Aaa/AAA

THE US corporate bond market began 1999 where it left off in 1998, with a positive tone in credit markets and strong demand from investors enabling a wide variety of issuers to raise debt. Helped by the positive reception to global dollar offerings from Fannie Mae ($4bn), Ford ($2.3bn, upped from $1.5bn) and GMAC ($2bn), the pace of activity in the new issue market started to quicken as the week drew on.

VIVENDI has mandated SG to arrange a Eu500m five year revolving credit. SG has launched the deal to a limited group of co-arrangers which have been asked to commit Eu60m for an underwriting fee of 7bp. The loan carries a margin of 25bp over Libor for the first two years and 27.5bp for years three to five. A commitment fee of 2.5bp is also payable on the two tranches