Bank Loan Report articles from April 2006

Bank Loan Report archives from April 2006

GM Revolver Soars As Co. Says It May Replace Or Amend Loan.(General Motors Corp)
April 3, 2006... Amid speculation that General Motors Corp. (GM) will replace or amend its $5.6 billion revolver, bids for the unsecured loan soared in the secondary market last Wednesday, a day after the beleaguered auto maker disclosed in a filing that there...

Second Lien Lenders Prepare For Combat.(Calpine Corp.)
April 3, 2006... During a recent Calpine Corp. bankruptcy hearing, one legal observer in attendance noted something very much out of the ordinary. In bankruptcy proceedings there are typically two main tables. Around one sits representatives of the debtor,...

Aladdin To Set Up Euro Loan Business.(Collateralized loan obligations)
April 3, 2006... With its eye on the booming European leveraged loan market, Aladdin Capital Management has joined the growing community of US collateralized loan obligation (CLO) managers setting up shop on the other side of the Atlantic. The firm took a key...

Lear Seeking $800M In Loans, Bank Meeting Set For This Week.(Deutsche Bank AG)(Deutsche Bank AG )
April 3, 2006... On Tuesday, JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank are slated to begin syndicating $800 million in secured term loans for Lear Corp. The facility consists of a $600 million term loan and a $200 million second lien term loan,...

Delta, American Cut Rates On Loans.(Delta Air Lines Inc.)
April 3, 2006... Capitalizing on the abundance of liquidity in the leveraged loan market, bankrupt Delta Air Lines successfully negotiated an amendment to its $1.9 billion debtor-in-possession (DIP) facility that is expected to save the airline about $30...

Allied Waste Reprices, TLB Slips In Secondary.(Allied Waste Industries Inc)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Last week, Allied Waste hit the market with a $1.77 billion repricing deal in an effort to shave 50 bps off of two tranches of its credit facility. The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based solid waste hauler is seeking to lower the interest margin on...

Meetings Set For Acquisition Loans.(Macquarie Bank aquires Aquarion Co)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Joint lead arrangers Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein and Royal Bank of Canada have scheduled two bank meetings, one in New York on April 27, and one in London on April 25, to begin selling $450 million in loans backing the buyout of a New...

Finkelman Tapped To Head US Leveraged Finance For SG.(Societe Generale Merchant Bank appoints Michael Finkelman)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Societe Generale (SG) announced last Wednesday that it has tapped Michael Finkelman to lead the bank's new US leveraged finance team. Finkelman, who started in his new post last week, comes on board from BNP Paribas, where he was a managing...

DB Starts LCDS Market Making.(Deutsche Bank AG (Frankfurt, Germany))(leveraged loans )(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Deutsche Bank announced last Thursday that it has started active market making of credit default swaps on leveraged loans (LCDS). The LCDS market will allow investors to take short- or long-term positions on leveraged loans and open up this...

Benign Default Environment Expected To Persist Through 2006.
April 3, 2006... Although the default rate for leveraged bank loans is expected to slowly climb throughout the course of the year, market players can look forward to another year of relatively low default rates, according to Moody's Investors Service. In...

Ratings Movers: Moody's Boosts AAC/Bauer Falls On Weak Sales.(American Achievement Corp)
April 3, 2006... Last week, American Achievement Corp. (AAC) scored good grades from Moody's Investors Service for paying down its term loan debt. On March 30, the rating agency boosted its ratings on the company's $40 million revolver and $123 million term...

I-Banks Step Up ABL Efforts As Loan Product Gains Popularity.(Asset-Based Lending)
April 10, 2006... In prior credit cycles, the asset-based lending (ABL) market often got its business in down cycles by providing loans to smaller issuers in industries with cyclical cash flows, or to those going through a restructuring. But now,...

Leveraged Loans Post Strong Q1 2006.
April 10, 2006... Fueled by a busy M&A calendar, continued demand for floating-rate paper and increased interest in the asset class, the first quarter of the year was yet another one for the US leveraged loan market's record books. The $139.2 billion in issuance...

Moody's Tracks CDO Equity Performance.(Moody's Investor Service)
April 10, 2006... Moody's Investors Service unveiled a new service last month aimed at helping a burgeoning class of US cash collateralized debt obligation (CDO) equity investors - mostly hedge funds - track how well their investments are performing. The rating...

Charter Communications Hires Bank Trio For $6.8B Refinancing.(Charter Communications Inc.)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... The loan market geared up for a major refinancing deal last week, as Charter Communications announced it had hired JPMorgan, Bank of America and Citigroup to arrange and syndicate a $6.8 billion refinancing deal. As of press time last Thursday,...

Donnelley Seeks Repricing.(R.H. Donnelley Corp.)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Only a few months after closing its acquisition of rival telephone directory publisher Dex Media, R.H. Donnelley Corp. hit the market to reprice several tranches of Dex-issued and Donnelley-issued bank debt via lead arranger JPMorgan. ...

UBS, BofA Shop TLC Funding.
April 10, 2006... Last week, joint lead arrangers UBS and Bank of America kicked off syndication of a $190 million credit facility for TLC Funding Corp. The facility includes a $20 million, five-year revolver, a $120 million, six-year term loan and a $50...

Burlington Boosts TL, Downsizes Bond Sale.
April 10, 2006... Bain Capital and its acquisition target, Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp., apparently prefer to shop for debt in the leveraged loan market more than in the high yield market, as evidenced by their decision to call off a planned sale of...

Evans Joins UBS Sales Desk.(Aimee Evans)(UBS AG)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Last week, UBS hired Aimee Evans as a director on its sales desk focusing on syndicated loans and mezzanine, according to a source. She replaces Teresa DeBenedictis, who is moving to the investment bank's London office, where she will be...

LMA Offers Markit Pricing Service To Members.(The Loan Market Association)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... The Loan Market Association (LMA) in Europe announced last Tuesday that it has selected Markit Group to provide its members with European loan prices. The new pricing service will provide, free to LMA members, mark-to-market prices for about...

SG CIB Forms Euro CLO Business, Egret Capital.(Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking )(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking (SG CIB) in London announced that it has formed an independently managed collateralized loan obligation (CLO) portfolio management entity called Egret Capital. Thierry de Vergnes will lead...

GE Energy Combines Debt Platforms.(General Electric Financial Services Inc.)(Brief article)
April 10, 2006... GE Energy Financial Services announced that it is combining and expanding its institutional and middle market commercial debt platforms to better serve debt issuers, intermediaries, asset-backed customers and middle market customers. "The...

Ratings Movers: Tenneco Gets Boost/IPG Falls On GM Ties.
April 10, 2006... Standard & Poor's doled out a rare upgrade to an automotive supplier last week, for Tenneco. The upgrade reflects both the company's recent performance and stable outlook. Lake Forest, Ill.-based Tenneco's $855 million credit facility was...

1st Quarter 2nd Lien Volume Soars With No Signs Of Abatement.(Credit Suisse Group)(J.P. Morgan Chase and Co)(The Goldman Sachs Group Inc)
April 17, 2006... Credit Suisse may no longer claim the title of top dog of the US junk bond market, but the firm has snagged the chief arranger title of another high yielding debt product: second lien loans. While at the end of 2005, the bank ended the year...

More Hedge Funds Get Into DIP Game.(debtor-in-possession)
April 17, 2006... As they search for more places to put their money, hedge funds are increasingly looking to break into the debtor-in-possession (DIP) and exit loan financing arena. By offering DIPs, hedge funds stand to collect high fees on a secured loan at...

Will Rated HealthSouth Loan Lure CLOs?
April 17, 2006... There was a fair amount of trading activity on HealthSouth Corp.'s $2.05 billion term loan B last week after Standard & Poor's doled out a B corporate credit rating with a stable outlook and a B+ rating for the company's credit facility....

JPMorgan, Credit Suisse Begin Syndication Of Cinram Facility.(syndicating an $850 million )(Brief article)
April 17, 2006... Last week, joint lead arrangers JPMorgan and Credit Suisse held a bank meeting to begin syndicating an $850 million credit facility for Cinram International. The facility includes a $150 million, five-year revolver and a $700 million, five-year...

UBS Sells Electrical Components.(Electrical Components International Holding Co)(Brief article)
April 17, 2006... Last week, sole lead UBS kicked off syndication of a $250 million bank deal for Electrical Components International Holding Co. (ECI). The credit facility is split among a $35 million, six-year revolver; a $155 million, seven-year first lien...

Protection One Shops TL Add-On.(Term loan)(Bear Stearns begin pitching a $66.8 million )(Brief article)
April 17, 2006... Bear Stearns held a conference call last Wednesday to begin pitching a $66.8 million add-on for Protection One to finance a shareholder dividend. Price talk for the add-on, which will increase its existing term loan to $300 million, is said to...

Bally Gets Filing Extension.(Bally Total Fitness Holding Corp)(Brief article)
April 17, 2006... Bally Total Fitness Holding Corp.'s bondholders joined its bank lenders in agreeing to give the embattled fitness chain until July 10, 2006, to file its 10-K for fiscal year 2005, the company said in an April 10 statement. The waiver, for which...

CIT Grows Financial Sponsor Business.(CIT Group appoints Mark Affolter, Thomas Hobbis, Eric L. Toizer and Peter R. White)
April 17, 2006... Last week, CIT Group announced four new hires for its global sponsor finance unit within its corporate finance group. This staff bulk-up allows the firm to hone in on financial sponsors in four regions of the US. Mark Affolter, who is...

Black Diamond To Open Euro Shop.(appoints Peter J. Cannon)(Brief article)
April 17, 2006... Last week, Black Diamond Capital Management joined the growing list of US firms looking for opportunities in the burgeoning European leveraged loan market. The firm announced it hired Peter J. Cannon as a managing director of its new European...

GSC Completes 1B Mezz Fund.(mezzanine funds)(GSC Partners)(Brief article)
April 17, 2006... Last week, GSC Partners announced that it has completed fund raising for its second European mezzanine fund, GSC European Mezzanine Fund II, which will invest in more than 1 billion in capital. The new fund will provide subordinated debt to...

Ratings Movers: Couche-Tard Gets Boost/Werner Steps Down.
April 17, 2006... Alimentation Couche-Tard moved within one notch of investment grade last week, as Moody's Investors Service raised the company's corporate family rating and credit facility rating to Ba1 from Ba2. The outlook is stable. "The upgrade is...

JPMorgan: MM CLO Market Poised For Further Growth.(middle market)
April 17, 2006... Increasing loan demand pushed collateralized loan obligation (CLO) average spreads ever-tighter in 2005 - so much so that a number of deals were at risk of breaching spread requirements. BB and BB- rated institutional loan spreads tightened...

The Fundamental Benefits Of Today's Asset-Based Finance.(Collateralized loan obligations)
April 17, 2006... by Joyce White, president, Bank of America Business Capital Companies in an array of industries and at varying stages of their life cycles use asset-based loans for a multitude of reasons including M&A, debt refinancing, capital...

Institutional Market Ponders Impact Of Tightening Spreads.(rate refinancing and Collateralized loan obligations)
April 24, 2006... Much to investors' chagrin, the steady stream of repricing activity in the loan market has shown no sign of abatement, as lenders continue to mull over proposed spread cuts for issuers. Over the past several weeks, a host of companies,...

NAC Grows Business With First CLO.(New Amsterdam Capital Management)(Collateralized loan obligations)
April 24, 2006... Like many of his peers in the European leveraged loan market, Don Procter, chief investment officer of London-based investment management firm New Amsterdam Capital Management (NAC), believes that the unprecedented growth in the asset class...

New Subforum To Support CDO Industry.(Collateralized Debt Obligation)
April 24, 2006... Swelling volumes of US collateralized debt obligation (CDO) issuance have drawn more intense regulatory scrutiny to the sector and raised the need for standardization across both cash and synthetic sectors, market participants say. Overall...

Lear Upsizes, Cuts Spread On TL While Eliminating Second Lien.(Lear Corp.)(term loan )(Brief article)
April 24, 2006... The woes in the automotive sector didn't appear to dampen the loan market's interest in a deal for Lear Corp., as the company's proposed term loan was increased to $1 billion from an initial $600 million, and a planned $200 million second lien...

Merisant In Market For $85M Second Lien.(joint lead arrangers Jefferies & Co. and Credit Suisse)(Brief article)
April 24, 2006... On April 13, the Merisant Company announced that joint lead arrangers Jefferies & Co. and Credit Suisse began marketing an $85 million second lien loan. Proceeds from the new second lien will go to repay some existing bank debt, as required by...

Bank Duo Syndicates Hexion Facility.(Credit Suisse and JPMorgan )( a $1.625 billion, seven-year term loan and a $50 million synthetic letter of credit)
April 24, 2006... Last week, Credit Suisse and JPMorgan kicked off syndication of a recapitalization deal for Hexion Specialty Chemicals. The company is in the market with a $1.625 billion, seven-year term loan and a $50 million synthetic letter of credit....

JPM Sells DHS Term Loan.(JPMorgan)(a joint venture of Delta Petroleum Corp. and Chesapeake Energy Corp)(syndication of a $100 million )
April 24, 2006... Last Thursday, sole lead JPMorgan launched syndication of a $100 million institutional term loan for DHS Drilling Company, a joint venture of Delta Petroleum Corp. and Chesapeake Energy Corp. Price talk on the deal was set at Libor plus 300...

CSK Delays Filing, Seeks Waiver.(CSK Auto Corp. )(Brief article)
April 24, 2006... CSK Auto Corp. disclosed on April 14 that it is delaying filing its annual report for fiscal year 2005 as a result of an investigation into the company's accounting. As a result, the company is asking its lenders if it can continue to access...

Nasdaq Nets Loan From BofA.($1.925 billion loan from Bank of America)
April 24, 2006... To help finance its recent acquisition of a 15% stake in the London Stock Exchange, The Nasdaq Stock Market obtained a $1.925 billion loan from Bank of America, Nasdaq disclosed in an April 17 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing....

XM Emerges With Refi Deal.
April 24, 2006... XM Satellite Radio Holdings is tendering its pricey high yield bond debt and refinancing it with a $250 million revolver and $800 million in new bond debt. Washington-based XM announced it had launched a tender offer on April 13 for its...

Churchill Financial Adds Three Staffers.(Eric Herr, Rich Daileader and Casey Zmijeski)(Brief article)
April 24, 2006... Last week, Churchill Financial Holdings announced three new hires to its structuring and origination group. Eric Herr, Rich Daileader and Casey Zmijeski, all managing directors, will be responsible for the origination and structuring of...

Imperial Hires Duo.(Imperial Capital has hired Marc Bilbao and Scott Farnsworth)(Brief article)
April 24, 2006... Imperial Capital has hired Marc Bilbao and Scott Farnsworth, both formerly of Giuliani Capital Advisors, for its Los Angeles office. The additions are part of the firm's continued expansion efforts to grow its corporate...

DB Unifies Debt, Equity Divisions Globally.(Brief article)
April 24, 2006... Deutsche Bank plans to create a unified global capital markets division that will place all the underwriting and syndication responsibilities of equities, investment grade and high yield bonds, and syndicated loans under one business. Richard...

William Blair Formalizes Restructuring Practice.(investment banking services)(Brief article)
April 24, 2006... William Blair & Co. announced that it has launched a formal middle market special situations and restructuring practice. Richard P. Kiphart, head of corporate finance and a member of William Blair's executive committee, said in a statement that...

Ratings Movers: DynCorp May See Upgrade/Stanadyne Slips.
April 24, 2006... While ratings activity on corporate bank debt was thin last week, Moody's Investors Service did place DynCorp International's bank debt on review for an upgrade following an announcement that the company plans to use some of the proceeds from...

Dana's Pre-Chapter 11 Planned Asset Sales Back On Track.(Dana Corp)(Miller Buckfire is advising Dana on its restructuring)
April 24, 2006... Dana Corp. is revising its effort to sell at least two businesses it had been marketing before the Toledo, Ohio-based auto parts manufacturer filed for Chapter 11 on March 3. "The engine hard parts and fluids businesses will come into the...

US Credit Default Swap Name Concentration Leaped In 2005.
April 24, 2006... The top 10 most widely referenced entities within the burgeoning US credit default swap (CDS) market accounted for 43% of all trades last year, excluding the indices. This is compared with only 27% in 2004, according to Fitch Ratings. The...