Lehman Brothers is set to find out if banks retain any appetite for leveraged loans in the maligned telecom sector by arranging a loan of up to $500m (€560.7m) backing the leveraged buy-out of TSI, the US telecom group.

GTCR Golden Rauner, the US private equity firm, agreed to buy the business from Verizon, the US telecom giant, for $800m in cash. Lehman, GTCR's financial adviser, is believed to have underwritten a bridge loan and is eager to syndicate a new loan as soon as possible.