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AES Corp.'s term loans got a shot in the arm last week from the long-awaited $1.4 billion sale of Cilcorp, an AES utility, to Ameren. In the secondary loan market AES' "A" piece debt rallied a point to 97-98 and the "B" and "C" tranches were said to be half a point stronger in the 94-95 1/2 range. AES received roughly $500 million in net equity, $250 million of which was used to pay down the company's bank debt.

CIBC World Markets last week launched syndication of a $325 million credit facility backing Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Trimaran Capital Partners' $610 million all cash buyout of DTE Energy's International Transmission Co. (ITC) subsidiary. The credit line includes a $200 million loan at the operating company level divided into a $185 million "B" loan and a $15 million revolver. Price talk is in the LIBOR plus 250 basis point range, says an official familiar with the situation. At the holding company level, there is a $125 million loan priced at LIBOR plus 350-400 basis points, he adds. CIBC bankers and a Trimaran spokeswoman did not return calls by press time. A KKR spokeswoman declined to comment on the structure and status of the deal.

TransAlta is considering issuing at least $210 million of new shares to refinance its recent acquisition of a 50% interest in CE Generation from El Paso. The deal, which was completed Jan. 29, calls for TransAlta to pay El Paso some $240 million. Marvin Waiand, v.p. and treasurer, says the Calgary-based power generator has yet to select banks to underwrite the secondary stock offering and has not determined a timeframe for launching the deal. TransAlta will continuously monitor the equity markets for a favorable financing window, he says.

A 20-strong banking syndicate has taken control of the 680 MW Killingholme power plant in the U.K. after NRG Energy relinquished ownership last Friday. The exchange took place following roughly three months of protracted negotiations between NRG and a Bank of America-led syndicate about how best to restructure the debt after a sharp fall in U.K. electricity prices left NRG unable to cover its debt. Calls to Lesa Beda, an NRG spokeswoman, were not returned immediately.

Jeremy Ellis, head of project finance-London atCrédit Agricole Indosuez and the firm's point person for European power sector deals, has left the French bank. Rival financiers describe the departure as "abrupt" and "unexpected" and add a strained relationship between Ellis and his direct superiors at Crédit Agricole led to his departure. Ellis casts a long shadow over the European project finance market, having previously worked at Enron and Warburg Dillon Read, and was leading two of the largest deals currently underway in Europe while at Crédit Agricole, rivals add.

* St. Louis utility Ameren said the Securities and Exchange Commission approved its proposed $540 million purchase of CILCORP from AES, securing the final required regulatory approva for the deal. The acquisition creates Illinois' second-largest utility and enables AES, which has struggled to assuage concerns about its credit quality, to secure cash needed to shore up its balance sheet (Reuters, 1/30).

San Diego-based Sempra Energy issued $400 million of 10-year senior notes late last week to extend the duration of its debt portfolio and provide capital for a 6,350 MW power plant construction program at its Sempra Energy Resources subsidiary. The notes will extend duration by paying down some of Sempra's $685 million of short-term debt, explains Ralph Richardson, a company spokesman. He adds, "The notes are being issued now to take advantage of favorable market conditions and the current demand for strong credit issuers like ourselves."

Skip McGee, head of Lehman Brothers' global power group in New York, was promoted earlier this month to head the firm's investment banking division. Joe Sauvage andFrank Napolitano, managing directors, have stepped up to become co-heads of the group, says Napolitano, adding they will manage a group of 45 bankers in New York and London. McGee replaces Brad Jack, who has been promoted to co-chief operating officer alongside incumbent Joe Gregory, says a Lehman spokeswoman.

David Shepherdson, a senior project financier at Credit Lyonnais, last Monday joined Bank of Ireland to cover infrastructure finance out of London. Shepherdson, a high profile name in City project finance circles, joined the French bank in 2001. He was previously head of U.K. project finance at ING Barings (PFR, 9/10/01). Shepherdson was in meetings last Friday afternoon and could not be reached for comment.

Royal Bank of Scotland is expected to close senior syndication of a EUR700 million ($752 million) project-level financing forElectricity Supply Board's 800 MW Amorebieta project in Spain within the next two weeks with the addition of six or more sub-underwriters. An official close to the deal says the mandated lead arranger has pulled together five lenders, Bank of Scotland, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Bayerische Landesbank, Bank of Ireland, and KBC Bank to take EUR125 million lead arranger tickets. He adds Allied Irish Bank and Fortis Bank are also considering joining the roster. Take-and-hold commitments will be scaled down to EUR50 million in retail syndication. Tony Lowe, a banker at RBoS, did not return calls, and financiers at the other banks either declined comment or did not respond by press time.