Bank Loan Report articles from August 2006

Bank Loan Report archives from August 2006

Sara Lee Seeks XL Debt Package In Support Of Hanesbrands Spin-Off.
August 7, 2006... Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch met with investors last Tuesday to pitch the $3.1 billion financing package for Sara Lee's tax-free spin-off of its apparel business into a publicly traded company under the Hanesbrands name. Some market players...

Carlyle Closes Eighth CLO - CHYP VIII.(Collateralized loan obligations)
August 7, 2006... As pricing finally begins to rise on institutional loans, collateralized loan obligation (CLO) managers are frenetically scrambling to issue larger funds in order to invest in and take advantage of these juicier spreads. Jumping on board with...

Pali Capital Builds Distressed Debt Team.(appointments of Matthew Pilkington, Alyson Gardner Kiesel and Martha Chavez-Parizot )
August 7, 2006... Hoping to capitalize on the imminent, although still not here yet, default cycle, New York-based broker-dealer Pali Capital announced last week that it has expanded its staff to include a special opportunities and distressed debt team. The move...

Private Equity Duo Seeks $875M Credit To Back Berry Plastics Buy.
August 7, 2006... Lead arrangers Credit Suisse and Citigroup launched syndication last Tuesday of an $875 million credit facility for Berry Plastics Corp. The deal includes a six-year, $200 million revolver and a seven-year, $675 million term loan B. Both...

CS, CIBC Launch N.E.W. Facility.(Credit Suisse)(N.E.W. customer service company acquisition by Berkshire Partners)(Brief article)
August 7, 2006... Arrangers Credit Suisse and CIBC World Markets launched syndication of a $665 million credit facility for N.E.W. Customer Service Companies last Tuesday. The bank facility, consisting of a six-year, $20 million revolver, a seven-year, $390...

Kerzner Seeks $575M Loan Deal.
August 7, 2006... Private equity firms Providence Equity Partners and Colony Capital have teamed up with bank duo Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank to arrange a $575 million credit facility to support the $3.18 billion acquisition of Kerzner International Limited....

GE Healthcare Makes Commitment To RadNet.(Primedex Health Systems Inc acquisition with Radiologix)
August 7, 2006... GE Healthcare Financial Services has provided a commitment for $405 million of senior debt financing to RadNet Management, a subsidiary of Primedex Health Systems. The new facility includes a $45 million revolver, due 2011, for working capital...

Savers Plans Recap.(Freeman Spogli & Co merges with Savers)(Brief article)
August 7, 2006... CIBC World Markets is launching syndication of a $212 million credit facility to finance the recapitalization of Savers as a result of its $555 million acquisition led by private equity firm Freeman Spogli & Co. The new facility includes a...

UBS, BNY Go Live With Millennium Line.(bank of New York)(Brief article)
August 7, 2006... Joint lead arrangers UBS and Bank of New York broadcasted syndication last Thursday, of $175 million in senior secured credit facilities, including a $15 million, six-year revolver, a $120 million, six-year, first lien term loan B and a $40...

NYLIM Closes Flatiron CLO 2006.(New York Life Investment Management)(collateralized loan obligation)(Brief article)
August 7, 2006... New York Life Investment Management (NYLIM) announced last week that it closed a $618 million collateralized loan obligation (CLO), NYLIM Flatiron CLO 2006. The new CLO, underwritten by Citigroup, and managed by NYLIM's fixed income investors...

LMA Announces Board Appointments.(Loan Market Association)(appointments of Kim Humphreys, David Fewtrell and David Slade )(Brief article)
August 7, 2006... The Loan Market Association (LMA) announced a number of board appointments last week, including that of Kim Humphreys (of Mizuho Corporate Bank), who was elected to continue as chairman of the board. Among the other appointments, David Fewtrell...

GE CF Media Relocates Gupta To Hong Kong.(commercial finance )(Brief article)
August 7, 2006... GE Commercial Finance - Global Media & Communications announced last week the relocation of managing director Bhupesh Gupta to Hong Kong, where he will join Daniel Camacho, a director in the media business who also recently joined the team. ...

Iyer Heads DB DCM In Southeast Asia.(Deutsche Bank debt capital markets )(appointment)(Brief article)
August 7, 2006... Sreenivasan Iyer has joined Deutsche Bank as director and head of the debt capital markets and corporate coverage group for the Southeast Asia region, comprising of Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. In his new role, Iyer, who...

Peltz Joins Clifford Chance CF Group.(appointment of Brynn D. Peltz )(corporate finance )(Brief article)
August 7, 2006... Brynn D. Peltz has joined Clifford Chance's corporate finance practice in New York as a partner in the funds group, the firm announced last week. Peltz was most recently senior counsel at Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett, where she worked with...

Fitch Offers Stability Scores On Synthetic CDOs.
August 7, 2006... Fitch Ratings announced on August 2 the launch of stability scores for synthetic collateralized debt obligations (CDOs). The scores indicate the propensity of a tranche to retain its original rating over a period of one year from closing, thus...

EMEA Second Lien Volume Down.(European, Middle East and Asia)(Brief article)
August 7, 2006... European, Middle East and Asia (EMEA) second lien loan volume is down 6% compared with year-to-date in 2005, according to Dealogic. Volume fell from $5 billion in 2005 to $4.6 billion this year. In addition, the average second lien deal...

Ratings Movers: Maguire Up On TL Paydown/Dura Auto Sputters.
August 7, 2006... Maguire Properties Inc. and Maguire Properties LP received a boost last week from Standard & Poor's. The rating agency upgraded Maguire Properties Holdings I's $332 million term loan and Maguire Properties LP's $100 million revolver from BB to...

Safety-Kleen Cleans Up Capital Structure With New Facility.(Safety-Kleen Holdco )(Credit Suisse and JPMorgan)
August 14, 2006... It looks like Safety-Kleen Holdco has put the finish on its glossed up capital structure - the company announced the completion of a major recapitalization last Tuesday. The company announced a $100 million rights offering to purchase common...

MM CLO Sector Matures, Outlook Is Rosy.
August 14, 2006... The middle market collateralized loan obligation (CLO) sector has seen a rash of rating agency upgrades this year - and while credit quality is expected to remain strong despite new managers and collateral choices, the rosy performance can be...

Loan Mart Raids Private Placement PF Turf.(Project finance)
August 14, 2006... Project finance investments and the private placement market have been dancing to an awkward tune since the turn of the millennium, when experimentation in the utilities industry by merchant power operators forced many buy-siders to sit out on...

BNP Paribas Arranges New $350M Refinancing For Foster Wheeler.
August 14, 2006... BNP Paribas is arranging a new $350 million, five-year senior secured domestic credit facility for Foster Wheeler. The deal will replace the $250 million credit facility arranged for the company in 2005. The new debt package, which includes a...

BofA Leading RGT Acquisition Line.
August 14, 2006... Lead arranger Bank of America is arranging a $1.05 billion senior secured credit facility, along with JPMorgan, Merrill Lynch, and Lehman Brothers, to partly fund the $1.5 billion acquisition of Royal Group Technologies (RGT) by Georgia Gulf...

Dresser Seeks To Amend.(Brief article)
August 14, 2006... Dresser announced last Monday that it would be seeking amendments to its $820 million senior secured credit facility, arranged by Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley. The company is also seeking a consent under its senior unsecured term loan,...

BEAV Flies New Facility.(B/E Aerospace)(Draeger Aerosystems GmbH)(Brief article)
August 14, 2006... B/E Aerospace (BEAV) is tacking on new credit with a $450 million senior secured credit facility consisting of a $150 million revolver due 2011 and a $300 million term loan due 2012. On July 26, BEAV announced the acquisition of Draeger...

UBS Shops Paramount Deal.(Brief article)
August 14, 2006... UBS launched syndication of a new $150 million credit facility last Wednesday for Paramount Resources. UBS acted as sole arranger, bookrunner, and syndication agent for the term loan B facility. Proceeds from the facility will be used to...

Loan Defaults Drop In July.
August 14, 2006... The default rates for leveraged loans dropped even further last month, as Moody's Investors Service reported that there were no Moody's-rated leveraged loans in default for the month of July. Five Moody's-rated corporate loan issuers have...

Ratings Movers: RC2 Up On Metrics/Majestic Star Drops.
August 14, 2006... Toy company RC2 Corp. saw its ratings bump up last week when Moody's Investors Service upgraded the company's $154 million senior secured credit facility. The ratings on the facility, consisting of a $100 million revolver due 2008, and...

Northwest Launches Collateral Heavy Deal Via Citigroup.
August 14, 2006... Northwest Airlines Corp. is fueling up for its departure from bankruptcy, having launched a $1.225 billion super-priority debtor-in-possession (DIP), exit credit and guarantee agreement via Citigroup on August 7. The new debt package,...

Receding Financial Covenants Threaten Robust Loan Market.
August 21, 2006... Despite the currently robust credit environment, weakening financial covenants may pose an ominous threat to the continued surge in market liquidity, according to a recent report by Fitch Ratings. While the overall economic environment...

Insider Info An Issue For Ch. 11 Code.(non-public information)
August 21, 2006... It's been nearly a year since amendments to the US bankruptcy code went into effect last fall, and in that time the changes wrought by the modified code have begun to crystallize. Most market players agree that many aspects of the revised code...

CDO Managers Wait For Experience To Pay Off.(purchasing bonds from new managers without a discount )
August 21, 2006... Despite numerous calls and anecdotal evidence over recent months to the contrary, CDO investors still do not appear to be asking for much consolation when they buy into a deal run by a first-time manager. The so-called seasoned CDO managers -...

Bank Duo To Arrange Sonic Facility For Share Repurchase.(restaurant company)
August 21, 2006... Last Tuesday, Lehman Brothers and Banc of America launched a $775 million senior secured credit facility, consisting of a $100 million revolver maturing in 2011, and $675 million term loan B maturing in 2013, for Sonic Corp. to finance a dutch...

JPMorgan Launches Debt for Acxiom Tender Offer.(customer and information management solutions )(Brief article)
August 21, 2006... JPMorgan is currently shopping an $800 million senior secured credit facility for Acxiom Corp.. The facility, which launched last Monday, includes a $200 million, five-year revolver and a $600 million, six-year term loan B. Pricing is a Libor...

GE Arranges Breeze Dividend Recap.
August 21, 2006... GE Antares Capital announced last Tuesday that it will be arranging a $95 million senior secured credit facility for Breeze Industrial Products Corp., a portfolio company of Wind Point Partners. The debt package, consisting of a $15 million,...

Deutsche Arranges US LEC And PAETEC Merger.
August 21, 2006... Sole lead arranger Deutsche Bank along with Merrill Lynch and CIT Group announced an $850 million commitment last Monday, to finance the definitive merger agreement between US LEC Corp. and PAETEC Communications Inc., which will combine into...

Land O'Lakes Secures JPM to Arrange.(Securities and Exchange Commission filing)
August 21, 2006... Land O'Lakes is churning their debt package, with a recent announcement that it has selected JPMorgan to arrange an amended and restated $225 million, five-year senior secured revolver, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing....

Deutsche Gambles on Wynn LV Refi.(Wynn Las Vegas entered into an amended and restated credit agreement )(Brief article)
August 21, 2006... Wynn Las Vegas announced last Tuesday that it has entered into an amended and restated credit agreement with lead arranger Deutsche Bank, along with Banc of America, BearStearns, JPMorgan, Societe Generale and other lenders to refinance its...

GMAC Hires Chen For Commercial Services.(Karen Shun Lee Chen hired as a senior vice president and managing director)(Brief article)
August 21, 2006... GMAC Commercial Finance (GMAC CF) hired Karen Shun Lee Chen to its commercial services division international group. As senior vice president and managing director, Chen will be responsible for advancing the firm's supply chain financing...

Wachovia Securities Taps Khan.(join as the firm as a managing director)(Brief article)
August 21, 2006... Wachovia Securities recently announced the hire of Asif Khan, who will join the firm as a managing director in alternative investments and CDO distribution within the structured credit products group. Khan will be responsible for global...

Ratings Movers: DS Waters Up On Debt Repay/Rotech Declines.
August 21, 2006... On the heels of Moody's Investors Service's recent upgrade, Standard & Poor's also bumped up the ratings for H20 distributor DS Waters. The senior secured credit facility, which comprises a $92 million revolver due 2008, and a $218 million term...

Is Dura The Next Auto Supplier In Line For Chapter 11?(hired Miller Buckfire as a top restructuring adviser)
August 21, 2006... The recent news that Dura Automotive has hired Miller Buckfire, a top restructuring adviser, and Kirkland & Ellis, a law firm that has lately been involved in some high-profile Chapter 11 automotive cases, has market players scrutinizing the...