Bank Loan Report articles from August 2004

Bank Loan Report archives from August 2004

CLECs Could Face Financial Troubles Due To UNE-P Ouster.(competitive local-exchange carriers)
August 2, 2004... Just as market players thought the worst of the telecommunications downturn had passed, another major bump in the road has emerged for a number of companies in the sector. Namely, competitive local-exchange carriers (CLECs) could be in for...

Proposed Structured Fin. Rules Concern Banks.
August 2, 2004... The concept of banks policing their customers has unnerved members of the financial community involved in complex structured finance activities, many of which recently commented on proposed guidance - by banking regulators and the Securities...

New Investors Threaten Mezz Security.
August 2, 2004... The continual search for yield across the credit markets has driven new investor groups into Europe's traditionally clubby and private mezzanine market. Larger deal sizes, increased liquidity and an ever-more active secondary market have all...

Goodyear Rolls Out New Credit To Complete 2005 Debt Revamp.(Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.)
August 2, 2004... The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was in the loan market spotlight once again last week, as it came to market Wednesday with a $500 million senior secured funded credit to replace its existing $680 million revolver, which matures April 2005....

Bank Duo To Lead Debt For Boise Cascade Spinoff To PE Firm.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... JP Morgan and Lehman Brothers are planning to lead a jumbo financing deal in support of Madison Dearborn Partners' $3.7 billion leveraged buyout of the paper, forest products and timberland assets of Boise Cascade Corp. Details on the financing...

UBS, Deutsche Bank Bring Ply Gem To Market With Acquisition Deal.
August 2, 2004... UBS, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan have been selected to lead a $161 million credit facility to back Ply Gem Industries' $320 million acquisition of MW Manufacturers. The credit, which is expected to launch syndication in the earlier part of this...

GECF Looks To Boost Lending In Silicon Valley.(GE Commercial Finance)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... GE Commercial Finance (GECF) Corporate Lending recently appointed Carlos Elizondo, a vice president at the firm, to take charge of generating lending opportunities with Silicon Valley-based technology companies. Elizondo, who is based in GECF's...

Mahoney Jumps To Deutsche Bank's Sponsor Group.(Sean Mahoney as vice chairman )(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Deutsche Bank recently announced the appointment of Sean Mahoney as vice chairman of global corporate finance, acting as senior relationship manager in the financial sponsors group in New York. He is also now a member of the Corporate Finance...

SSgA Takes Defensive High Yield Stance.(State Street Global Advisors Inc.)(Interview)
August 2, 2004... Having built a strong global credit platform, State Street Global Advisors, which manages over $121 billion in global bond assets, is looking to grow its high yield assets, currently at approximately $600 million. Thomson Media reporter, Joy...

Investors Eye Growing Liquid European CDO Market.
August 2, 2004... Though it's been a long time coming, investors are finally seeing secondary liquidity in European collateralized debt obligations (CDOs). According to Standard & Poor's, synthetic transactions continue to be a major driver in the market....

CLO Default And Prepayment Data - The Unified Front.(collateralized loan obligation)
August 2, 2004... Many collateralized loan obligation (CLO) investors, too distracted with defaults and recovery data, are ignoring the influence of loan prepayment speeds, say some market pundits. "To look at defaults and not prepayments - you don't get a good...

KeyBank Increases Lending To Native American Businesses.
August 9, 2004... Amid the increasing number of tribal gaming debt transactions hitting the market over recent months, KeyBank has decided to capitalize and expand on its own expertise in the entire US tribal space by launching a new financial services strategy...

Derivatives Staffers A Hot Commodity.
August 9, 2004... The hottest business on Wall Street today, many say, is the derivatives business, and banks have been adding the greatest number of new staff to their derivatives desks. This market has grown exponentially over the past couple of years,...

Mark-it Partners/LoanX Expands Services.
August 9, 2004... In 2000, a new syndicated loan data platform known as LoanX was founded by five dealers with two main objectives: To provide a higher level of secondary market liquidity and to provide a new, more effective and efficient source of loan pricing...

Vanguard Health Buyout Deal Launch Postponed To This Week.(Vanguard Health Systems Inc.)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Bank of America and Citigroup are poised to launch a $1.05 billion credit for Vanguard Health Systems this week, after the bank meeting was postponed from last Wednesday, a banker close to the deal said. The deal will support The Blackstone...

Blockbuster Dividend Credit Shifts Some Debt To New HY Issue.(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Last week, JP Morgan, Citi and Credit Suisse First Boston shifted $300 million out of Blockbuster's initial $1.45 billion credit facility into a newly planned senior subordinated notes deal due 2012. A banker close to the now $1.15 billion...

PanAmSat Satellite Stirs Up Concerns Over Buyout Financings.(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Investors were at a standstill last Thursday following PanAmSat Corp.'s announcement that a propulsion failure might cause the company to lose one of its 24 satellites three years from now instead of in 11 years, as planned. The news allows...

GE Commercial Finance Beefs Up Syndications Team.(Jeffrey Gimby, John Kuhn)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... GE Commercial Finance (GECF) announced the addition of two new senior vice presidents - Jeffrey Gimby and John Kuhn - to its capital markets/syndications team last Thursday. Both individuals now report to Mary Beth Burnett, a managing director...

FIRST Database Completes First Phase of Improvements.(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Fitch Risk announced last week that it has launched an updated version of its Financial Institutional Risk Scenario Trends (FIRST) database, managed by Penny Cagan. FIRST is a Web-based operational risk loss database that analyzes loss events...

Capital Z Supports Cedarview Capital.(Capital Z Partners, Cedarview Capital Management)(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... Cedarview Capital Management, a new firm focusing on long and short high yield strategies and other investment opportunities, recently launched with approximately $50 million in assets under management and a goal of managing up to $500 million...

Sponsor-To-Sponsor Deals Raise Investor Eyebrows.
August 9, 2004... There has been a rise in sponsor-to-sponsor leveraged buyouts (LBOs) in the market lately, and some high yield investors are expressing concern over the deals. While these deals seem to be becoming more popular in the market, market players are...

Synthetic Risk Transfer May Lose The Special Purpose Entity.
August 9, 2004... An interesting and unexpected provision included in the Basel II guidelines could effectively nullify previously recognized synthetic risk transfers if the protection seller is a special purpose entity (SPE). Such is the case in the bulk...

Second Quarter Brings Boost In Spirits For US CDOs.(collateralized debt obligations)
August 9, 2004... US collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) saw a 30% spike in volume in the second quarter of 2004. They also experienced a smaller number of downgrades compared to previous years. Moody's Investors Service recorded 43 downgrades in the second...

Moody's High Yield Default Rates: How Low Can They Go?(Brief Article)
August 9, 2004... The global speculative-grade default rate dropped to 2.9% in July from a revised rate of 3.4% in June, according to Moody's Investors Service. July's rate is the lowest it has been since January 1999. July's default rate is down from 5.2% at...

Allocations Vital For Investors During Latest Repricing Surge.
August 16, 2004... Loan repricings have become common in the US loan market. But the latest bout - which started about a month ago and includes more than 25 deals (see chart, page 10) - has, for several investors, been more brutal than ever. And despite putting...

Crown Interrupts Europe's Summer Slump.
August 16, 2004... In a move that participants described as either "ballsy" or "madness," Crown European Holdings [formerly known as Crown Cork & Seal (CCK)] priced 350 million of first priority senior secured notes last week, via lead manager, Citigroup. Lehman...

Can Utilities Avoid Past Mistakes?(energy industry, financial management)
August 16, 2004... Their balance sheets were in a pretty shabby state, to say the least, but US utilities - electric, gas, pipeline and water companies - are demonstrating clear signs of improvement. So much so that the pace and scale of negative rating actions...

SocGen To Syndicate Interstate Hotels' Refinancing Facility.
August 16, 2004... Interstate Hotels & Resorts was scheduled to enter the loan market today with a $135 million refinancing credit led by Societe Generale. The credit includes a three-year, $60 million revolver and a five-year, $75 million term loan, both with...

Journal Register B Loan Prices Down.(Brief Article)
August 16, 2004... JP Morgan reverse price flexed Journal Register Company's heavily oversubscribed, eight-year, $350 million term loan B last week from Libor plus 175 basis points to Libor plus 150 basis points, according to a source. The loan is a part of...

UBS, Deutsche Bank, JPM Shop Ply Gem's MW Acquisition Deal.(Brief Article)
August 16, 2004... UBS, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan launched syndication last week of a $161 million credit to back Ply Gem Industries' $320 million acquisition of MW Manufacturers. The credit includes a $20 million revolver and a $141 million incremental term...

JP Morgan Piles On More Borrowing Capacity For American Capital Strategies.(Brief Article)
August 16, 2004... American Capital Strategies announced last week that JP Morgan has joined the company's revolver, agreeing to commit up to $250 million to American Capital's now-$600 million revolver. The addition of JP Morgan to the public company's syndicate...

Carlyle To Launch Euro Leveraged Finance Business.(Carlyle Group )(Brief Article)
August 16, 2004... Joining a growing number of firms making the jump across the Atlantic, The Carlyle Group announced that it, too, is planning to launch its own European leveraged finance business. The private equity firm, with about $18 billion under management...

DebtX Appoints Parseghian To Advisory Board.(Greg Parseghian )(Brief Article)
August 16, 2004... DebtX, a full-service loan sale advisor and online marketplace for commercial debt, which prices, markets and sells loans, recently announced the appointment of Greg Parseghian to its advisory board. Parseghian will join other business and...

Using Treasury Management In An Asset-Based Structure To Maximize Liquidity.
August 16, 2004... Middle-market companies have always relied on asset-based lenders for working capital. But with the need to maximize profitability, companies are looking at every facet of their business - especially the optimization of cash flow. As a result,...

Market To Soak Up More Satellite Debt With Intelsat Deal.
August 23, 2004... Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse First Boston and Lehman Brothers have been pinned to lead the mammoth financing package backing the $5 billion buyout of satellite operator, Intelsat. Apax Partners, Apollo Management, Madison Dearborn Partners and...

Sales Accounting For Participations To Stay.
August 23, 2004... Secondary loan market players concerned that trades settled by participation might fall under stricter requirements to qualify for sales accounting treatment may not need to worry anymore. Following an Aug. 11 meeting that addressed the topic,...

Euro Banks Easing Lending Standards.
August 23, 2004... For the first time since January 2003, banks in Europe eased their lending standards to both households and corporate entities during the second quarter of 2004, the European Central Bank (ECB) reported in its latest quarterly euro area bank...

Citigroup To Shop Province Healthcare Acquisition Credit.(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... Citigroup is gearing up to launch syndication next month of a $1.725 billion credit facility to back LifePoint Hospitals' $1.7 billion acquisition of Province Healthcare Company. The debt package will include $1.325 billion in term loan debt,...

Bank Duo Syndicates Denny's Deal.(BofA)(UBS)(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... BofA and UBS launched syndication of a $275 million credit for Denny's Corp. last Tuesday. The deal includes a five-year, $200 million term loan and a four-year, $75 million revolver, both priced at Libor plus 350 basis points. There was also...

Goldman and Wachovia Market TransWestern Dividend Recap...Again.
August 23, 2004... Goldman Sachs and Wachovia were busy last week syndicating $150 million in first and second lien add-on loans for TransWestern Publishing Company. The new debt is part of the San Diego-based publishing company's $797 million recapitalization...

Goodyear Closes Out Increased Credit.(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company announced last week the completion of its senior funded credit facility, which was upsized from $500 million to $680 million on account of hefty oversubscription by investors. The three-year credit, which is...

Deutsche Bank Adds Staffers To Loan Sales, Structured Products Groups.(Brief Article)
August 23, 2004... Deutsche Bank has hired Einar Johansen, formerly of Goldman, to join its loan syndications global credit products group in London, a source said. Johansen will be a director in sales and he will report to Richard Munn, co-head of loan capital...

Cable Companies Winning The Race Against Telco Cos.
August 23, 2004... Cable companies are beating out telecommunications (telco) companies in the highly competitive and converging environment, said Moody's Investors Service, in a recent teleconference. The rating agency's cable and telco analysts concluded that...

Rising Star Xerox Heads Into No Man's Land.
August 23, 2004... It was one of the more high-profile fallen angels in its time, and for a while, Xerox bonds were extremely popular with high yield investors. Now, though, the era of fallen angels is over. Earlier this month, Xerox was upgraded by Moody's...

Gone Fishin'.
August 23, 2004... Bank Loan Report will be taking a break from its publishing schedule over the next two weeks. As a result, there will be no issues on Monday Aug. 30 and Monday Sept. 6. The next issue of BLR will be published on Sept. 13. Copyright 2004...