Market Chatter -- Corporate finance press digest

LONDON, July 16 (Reuters) - The following corporate finance-related stories involving U.S. and European companies were reported by media on Wednesday:

* Senior lenders to Four Seasons Healthcare, including Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Cheyne Capital, Marathon Asset Management and a real estate fund run by Morgan Stanley (MS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), are stepping up efforts to restructure its debt, the Financial Times reported.

The UK healthcare provider, owned by a fund in which the Qatar Investment Authority is the biggest investor, is facing a refinancing of 1.2 billion pounds of its 1.5 billion overall debt load in September the paper said.

* British Energy (BGY.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has hired investment banking boutique Gleacher Shacklock to act as an independent adviser on its bid approach from French energy group EDF (EDF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the Daily Telegraph reported.

The UK energy company has used NM Rothschild and its broker JP Morgan Cazenove for advice previously, but both have a commercial relationship with EDF, the paper said.

* The Saudi Arabian government has approved the creation of a new state investment vehicle with an initial capital of over $5 billion, the Financial Times reported on its website.

The firm, named Sanabil al-Saudia, will invest in Saudi Arabia and various sectors overseas, the paper said.

* Private equity firms are set to expand their share of the domestic M&A market, the Financial Times said in an interview with Richard Folsom, the head of Advantage Partners, on its website.

The private equity share of Japanese M&A will grow from its current level of around 5 percent to around 25 percent over the long term, Folsom said. (Compiled by Simon Challis, editing by Will Waterman)