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After a string of national mergers at the beginning of the 1990s, German firms are shifting their focus as domestic clients look to international experience. Nick Ferguson reports from Frankfurt

Travelers Group, the US financial services group, has announced it is acquiring a 25% equity stake for US$1.6 billion in Nikko Securities, Japan's third largest broker. Nikko is also to conclude a joint venture with Travelers' investment banking arm, Salomon Smith Barney. The joint venture will be owned 51% by Nikko and 49% by Salomon Smith Barney. US firm Davis Polk & Wardwell is acting for Nikko. The team includes corporate partners Danfort Townley (Tokyo), Robert Levine (New York) and Jordan Luke (Washington), and counsel Theodore Paradise (Tokyo).

The Swiss-American investment bank Credit Suisse First Boston is buying São Paulo bank Banco Garantia. New York firms Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton and Shearman & Sterling are advising on the US$675 million deal. Cleary Gottlieb is representing CSFB with a team headed by M&A and securities partners Peter Darrow and James Munsell.

The Italian Treasury has announced the sale of one billion shares, valued at L12,000 billion (US$6.68 million) in Eni, the oil and gas conglomerate. IMI and Credit Suisse First Boston, which had already worked on the sale of the third tranche, are acting as global coordinators. With the disbursment of the bonus shares — one for every 10 shares after 12 months — and exercise of the over-allotment option, the Treasury's holding in Eni could go down from 51% to 35%. US firm, Sullivan & Cromwell is representing Eni with corporate finance partner Richard Morrissey leading the team from New York.

Paragon has completed a £300 million (US$498 million) securitization of a portfolio of mixed consumer loans, including car loans, timeshare loans and stocking finance agreements. It is a first for Paragon, traditionally a securitizer of mortgages. The floating rate notes were issued through a special purpose vehicle, Finance for People (No. 3). JP Morgan acted as lead manager and Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York as trustee. Slaughter and May advised Paragon and Finance for People, with a team led by corporate partners Chris Smith and Andrew McLean. Also involved on the issuer's side are Tods Murray, providing Scots law advice and L'Estrange & Brett providing Irish law advice.

Petroleos de Venezuela has issued US$1.8 billion of notes through a special purpose financing vehicle, PDVSA Finance. The proceeds of the five tranche Rule 144A offering are intended to purchase existing and future accounts receivables arising from export sales of crude oil to the US. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter was the lead underwriter for the offering. US firm Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton acted as New York counsel to PVDSA Finance and Petroleos de Venezuela. The team included partners Peter Karasz, an international finance and Venezuela specialist, and Andres de la Cruz, a corporate finance and securities partner. Advice on Cayman Islands law to PVDSA was provided by WS Walker & Company.

Brown & Wood, Blake Dawson Waldron, Allen Allen & Hemsley and Mallesons Stephen Jaques are all advising on Australia's first global bond issue which is backed by non-US mortgages. Australian bank Westpac lauched its US$1.4 billion offering on June 4 with ratings from Moodys, Standard & Poor's, and Fitch, the first time a bond issue has been rated by all three agencies.

British company Computacenter has been floated on the London stock exchange, with a global offering of 44,304,014 ordinary shares, including a Rule 144A placing in the US. The value of the transaction was £1.15 billion (US$1.84 billion) with Goldman Sachs acting as global coordinator. UK firm Linklaters & Paines represented Computacenter. Partners Matthew Middleditch and Charlie Jacobs worked on the flotation, providing advice on English and US law. UK firm Freshfields acted for Goldman Sachs with a team headed by partners Christopher Joyce (corporate) and US partner Tom Joyce (finance).

The US$231 million Merida III project, one of the first independent power plants in Mexico, reached financial close on June 19. The project is being developed to sell power to the Mexican national electricity utility, Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE). Lead sponsor AES Corporation with Nichimen Corporation in Japan and Grupo Hermes of Mexico looked to US firm Chadbourne & Parke. New York partner John Baecher and Peter Fitzgerald in Washington led the team. Also representing the sponsors were Antonio Franck and Ignacio Pesqueira of Franck, Galicia, Ducland & Robles in Mexico City.

Italy continues to attract foreign law firms with UK firm Ashurst Morris Crisp announcing a strategic alliance with Milan-based Negri-Clementi Montironi & Soci. The agreement, based on an equal relationship, involves reciprocal exclusive referrals. Ian Nisse, Ashurst's managing partner, says: "This alliance is strategically based and strongly client driven for both firms." Ashurst, with offices in Paris, Brussels and Frankfurt, is trying to build a pan-European partnership.