Bank Loan Report articles from January 2006

Bank Loan Report archives from January 2006

US, Euro Leveraged Loan Markets Continued To Flourish In 2005.
January 9, 2006... What a difference a couple of years can make. After failing to hit the $1 trillion mark in 2003, the US syndicated loan market roared back to post record issuance of $1.36 trillion in 2004. That record was shattered in no time, however, as...

High Court Asked To Review OC Ruling.(Owens Corning)
January 9, 2006... The US Supreme Court has been asked to weigh in on the ongoing legal dispute over the proposed application of substantive consolidation in the Owens Corning (OC) bankruptcy settlement. However, it is yet to be seen whether the petitioners will...

Private Equity Party To Roll On In 2006.
January 9, 2006... The party is by no means over in private equity. As good as things were in 2005, this year may be even better, with bigger funds, bigger deals, more investment banking fees, and returns at least as good as last year, observers predict. ...

Banks Ring In New Year With Multi-Billion Dollar Debt Deals.
January 9, 2006... Talk about starting the New Year with a bang. Morgan Stanley and Citigroup wasted no time getting down to business as the banks held a bank meeting last Thursday to launch syndication of $5.2 billion worth of bank loans to back NRG...

Vertafore Hits Market For Divi Recap.(Vertafore )(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... Vertafore and its private equity sponsor, Hellman & Friedman, hit the market last Thursday with a $335 million dividend recapitalization deal. The deal includes a $30 million, five-year revolver; a $180 million, six-year term loan B; and a $125...

CSFB, Bear Stearns Shop Deluxe Loans.(Credit Suisse First Boston)(Deluxe Film and Creative Services Business )
January 9, 2006... Last Wednesday, joint lead arrangers Credit Suisse First Boston and Bear Stearns held a bank meeting to launch syndication of $733 million in bank loans to back MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings' (M&F) acquisition of Deluxe Film. The facility is...

Calpine Bank Debt Trades Up After Filing, Receives DIP.(anticipated bankruptcy filing)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... In the weeks following Calpine Corp.'s long-anticipated bankruptcy filing, the company's bank debt traded up in an otherwise quiet secondary market. For instance, its second lien loan traded in the high 70s in late December, and it has been...

Visteon TL Hits Secondary Mart.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... After a mid-December launch, Visteon Corp.'s new upsized 18-month term loan broke north of par last week, with initial bids for the paper at about 100.75, according to secondary market sources. Last Tuesday, Visteon released a statement...

LSTA: MLK Day Should Be A Loan Market Holiday.(Martin Luther King Jr. Day )(The Loan Syndications and Trading Association)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2006... Last week, The Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA) recommended that in observance of the US Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, Monday, January 16, 2006, should be treated as a holiday for purposes of calculating the start date for...

Ratings Movers: Autocam Up On New Loan/McLeod Falls.
January 9, 2006... Autocam Corp. started the New Year off on a good note, as Moody's Investors Service boosted its ratings on the company's first lien bank debt to B3 from Caa1. The January 4 upgrade reflects the Kentwood, Mich.-based company's new $75 million...

Robust CLO Issuance Likely To Continue In 2006, But Risks Remain.(collateralized loan obligation )
January 16, 2006... The pace of collateralized loan obligation (CLO) issuance is expected to remain strong in 2006, as long as leveraged loan issuance, liquidity, default rates, liability and underlying collateral spreads, and investor demand for CLO equity remain...

DrKW To Rev Up Loan Origination Biz.
January 16, 2006... On Wednesday, arts and crafts company EK Success is set to make its debut in the leveraged loan market with a $160 million loan package to back its leveraged buyout (LBO) by GTCR Golder Rauner. While bank deals to back middle market LBOs are...

GP's Second Lien Draws Broad Interest.(Georgia-Pacific Corp.)
January 16, 2006... Well known for its line of products that includes napkins and paper towels, Georgia-Pacific Corp. (GP) has long been in the business of making paper products. But last week it began generating another kind of paper - loan paper. Last...

JPM, Citigroup Launch Syndication Of United's $3B Exit Deal.
January 16, 2006... On January 9, UAL Corp. moved one step closer to exiting bankruptcy as it emerged with a loan package for subsidiary United Air Lines that could be as large as $3 billion. Proceeds from the new loans will go to repay outstanding...

BNP Paribas Plans Launch Of Propex Credit.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2006... Sole lead arranger BNP Paribas is gearing up for a Wednesday syndication launch of a $310 million credit facility to support Propex Fabrics' acquisition of SI Concrete Systems Corp. and SI Geosolutions Corp., according to a source familiar with...

Banks Sell Chesapeake Revolver, Petrohawk Add-On.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2006... Last Wednesday, Union Bank of California and BNP Paribas held a bank meeting in Oklahoma City, Okla., to launch syndication of a $2 billion refinancing deal for Chesapeake Energy Corp. While pricing on the proposed $2 billion revolver is based...

American Media Shops Refi.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2006... American Media hit the market with a $510 million refinancing deal last week that is split between a $60 million, six-year revolver and a $450 million, seven-year term loan B. Initial price talk for both tranches was set at Libor plus 325 bps,...

Banks Pitch Venetian Macau Loans.
January 16, 2006... Banks all over the globe are considering investing in the $2.5 billion bank deal to finance, in part, the design, development, construction and pre-opening costs of Las Vegas Sands Corp.'s The Venetian Macau Resort-Hotel-Casino. The deal -...

Banks Cut Pricing On Deluxe's First Lien.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2006... Last week, Credit Suisse and Bear Stearns trimmed pricing on the first lien tranches of the $758 million credit facility to support MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings' acquisition of Deluxe Film after the deal received strong interest from investors....

FriedbergMilstein Closes $384M CDO.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2006... On January 4, FriedbergMilstein, an alterative investment management firm that focuses on investments in middle market companies, announced the closing of FM Leveraged Capital Fund I, a $384 million collateralized debt obligation (CDO). The...

Loan Default Rate Inched Up In 2005.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2006... While still low when measured by historical standards, the US leveraged loan default rate was higher at the end of 2005 than in 2004, according to recent reports by Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's. At the end of 2005, Moody's...

Carlyle Adds Two To Euro Leveraged Finance Team.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2006... Last week, The Carlyle Group announced it has expanded the staff of its European leveraged finance team with the hires of Martin Glavin and Louis Reynolds, both of whom have come on board as associate directors. Carlyle has two collateralized...

Moody's' Proposed LGD Rating Could Lead To Loan Upgrades.
January 16, 2006... Aiming to further break down the elements of credit risk, Moody's Investors Service announced last week its plans to issue two new ratings to speculative grade, non-financial issuers - a probability of default rating (PDR) and a...

Ratings Movers: Dana's Debt Rises/Ford, Lear See Declines.
January 16, 2006... There was a lot of ratings action in the automotive sector last week, most of it not very positive. While Dana Corp.'s issuer default and senior unsecured debt ratings were slashed by Fitch Ratings last week, there was a silver lining to the...

S&P Goes Live With RatingsDirect 5.0, Improves Service.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2006... Starting January 9, Standard & Poor's' RatingsDirect service went a step further toward enhancing its clients' credit analysis and ratings needs. That's because S&P went public with RatingsDirect 5.0, the latest version of the service to...

MassMutual, Jefferies To Double Commitments To JBF Venture.
January 23, 2006... As the middle market continues to grow, so does Jefferies Babson Finance (JBF). After being in business for only a little over a year, the middle market lending shop is set to expand its business, thanks in part to a recent agreement by...

Some HY Players May Crossover To Loans.
January 23, 2006... The holidays might be over, but some high yield players are looking forward to that final round of giving known as bonus season. The first quarter of the year is largely known as the time when several market players collect their annual bonuses...

New And Old Faces: LSTA Elects '06 Board.
January 23, 2006... The Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA) elected its 2006 board of directors and officers at its annual meeting in New York last week, adding a couple of new faces, but retaining a fair number of previous ones. Jack Yang, a...

Calpine Plans Launch Of $2B DIP After Court Hearing.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2006... Last week, bankrupt power company Calpine Corp. released the details of its planned $2 billion debtor-in-possession (DIP) loan, for which it intends to launch general syndication sometime this week after a Wednesday bankruptcy court hearing....

CCA Seeks New Revolver.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2006... Last week, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) announced that it is seeking a new $150 million, five-year revolver. The revolver would be available both for new borrowings and for letters of credit, the Nashville, Tenn.-based operator of...

UBS, Bear Stearns Sell Linens Revolver.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2006... Last Thursday, UBS and Bear Stearns held a bank meeting to launch syndication of a $600 million, five-year asset-based revolver to back the buyout of Linens 'n Things by Apollo Management, National Realty & Development Corp. and Silver Point...

Bank Duo Pitches Astoria Generating.
January 23, 2006... Last week, joint lead arrangers and bookrunners Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs began shopping a $950 million credit facility for Astoria Generating Company Acquisitions. The deal consists of a $100 million, first lien working capital...

Cooper-Standard Seeks Loan To Back Acquisition.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2006... Last week, Cooper-Standard Automotive hit the market with a $215 million term loan due 2011 via Deutsche Bank, Lehman Brothers, UBS and Goldman Sachs. The new term loan is intended to finance the company's acquisition of ITT Industries'...

RGIS Returns To Market.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2006... After never completing a $570 million dividend recapitalization deal this past fall, RGIS Inventory Specialists is looking to try again, although this time with a smaller deal. As of press time last Thursday, RGIS had scheduled a bank...

Columbian Chem Deal Emerges.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2006... JPMorgan launched syndication of a credit facility for Columbian Chemical Company last Tuesday. The facility includes three tranches: a $75 million, five-year revolver; a $150 million, five-year term loan A; and a $150 million, seven-year term...

LSTA Hires Marsh As Asst. General Counsel.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2006... Last week, The Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA) appointed Bridget Marsh to fill the new post of assistant general counsel. Marsh will join the association from Milbank, Tweed, Hadley and McCloy in New York; she has also worked...

Moore Moves To RBS' Loan Markets Team.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2006... John Moore is headed over to The Royal Bank of Scotland as a senior director in loan sales, RBS' London office announced earlier this month. Moore, who was most recently a director in syndicated finance, global investment banking at HSBC, will...

Coyle, Martin Hop To Blackstone's London Debt Group.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2006... The Blackstone Group announced last Tuesday that Roger Coyle and Graham Martin have joined the firm's corporate debt group in London as senior analysts. Coyle comes to Blackstone from Fitch Ratings, where he was director of leveraged...

Standard Chartered Promotes Levitt.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2006... Standard Chartered recently named Brad Levitt as global head of capital markets, wholesale banking. Levitt, who was the bank's managing director and head of Asian and Middle East fixed income for the last eight years, is taking over for David...

Akin Gump Names New Partners.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2006... Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld has hired Adam K. Weinstein, Stewart A. Kagan and Rosa A. Testani as partners in the firm's New York office. The trio, which all previously worked at O'Melveny & Myers, will represent large cap and middle market...

Chanin Promotes Bankers.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2006... Specialty investment bank Chanin Capital Partners announced the promotion of several bankers. Peter Corbell was appointed managing director, while Brian Cullen was promoted to director, John Madden was promoted to senior vice president and...

Mizuho Markets CLO.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2006... Mizuho Leveraged Finance Group is marketing its 550 million ($663.7 million) leveraged loan collateralized loan obligation, Harvest III, according to sources. The notes include 364.8 million ($440.2 million) of 8.6-year AAA rated notes and four...

Ratings Movers: Transocean Moves Up/Another Supplier Falls.
January 23, 2006... While it was a quiet week for bank debt upgrades among issuers in the speculative grade market, investment grade-rated Transocean saw its bank debt boosted on January 13 to A- from BBB+ by Fitch Ratings. The Houston-based offshore drilling...

Six Major Catalysts Of Today's M&A Market.
January 23, 2006... For anyone looking to sell a company, today's M&A market is ripe with opportunity. Credit standards have loosened, and cash rich strategic and financial buyers are competing aggressively for acquisitions - giving sellers the ability to...

Medicare Proposal Affects Debt Of Long-Term Care Hospitals.
January 30, 2006... Debt investors got a taste last week of the future problems some speculative grade companies in the healthcare sector might face due to proposed changes in Medicare reimbursement policies. LifeCare Holdings, Select Medical Corp. and Triumph...

DeAM Ventures Into CLO Management.(Deutsche Asset Management)
January 30, 2006... After issuing its first collateralized debt obligation (CDO) in the US just last year, Deutsche Asset Management (DeAM) has gotten its foot in the door of the booming US collateralized loan obligation (CLO) marketplace thanks to a new agreement...

Closed-End Loan Funds Safer Bet Than HY?
January 30, 2006... High yield bonds appear to be becoming the black sheep of the asset classes this year, as many banks, like JPMorgan and Wachovia Securities, are underweight either corporate bonds in general, or high yield bonds in particular. Standard &...

Banks Trim Pricing On Jumbo Loans For G-P, UAL, NRG Energy.
January 30, 2006... After coming off of a record year of issuance in 2005, the US leveraged bank loan market appeared to be going strong into the first few weeks of 2006 as well. In fact, many multi-billion dollar loan packages that launched syndication soon after...

Calpine Receives Court Approval For DIP.(Brief Article)
January 30, 2006... Last Wednesday, Calpine Corp. announced that it had received final approval from the US Bankruptcy Court for its $2 billion debtor-in-possession (DIP) credit facility. The facility, which is led by Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse, includes a $1...

UBS Shops GSC Credit.(Brief Article)
January 30, 2006... GSC Partners, an investment management firm that plays in the bank loan market, was in a different role last week as the firm hit the market via UBS with a $140 million credit facility to support GSC's planned recapitalization and...

Formica Seeks Divi Recap.(Brief Article)
January 30, 2006... Bank of America and UBS are in the market with a $270 million cross-border dividend recapitalization deal for Formica Corp. The deal, which is being shopped to both US, Canadian and European investors, is comprised of a $60 million, six-year...

Bank Duo Launches Burger King.(Brief Article)
January 30, 2006... After completing a refinancing deal last summer, Burger King Corp. returned to the loan market last week with a multi-tranche deal that will go, in part, to pay a $350 million dividend to private equity sponsors Texas Pacific Group, Bain...

JPM Sells ISP Loans.(J.P. Morgan Private Bank)(ISP Chemco Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 30, 2006... On January 20, sole lead JPMorgan launched syndication of $1.15 billion of bank loans for ISP Chemco. The credit facility is split between a $200 million, six-year revolver and a $950 million, seven-year term loan B. Initial price talk for the...

Franklin Merges Fixed Income Teams.(Brief Article)
January 30, 2006... Franklin Templeton Investments announced it is merging the fixed income teams of subsidiaries Franklin Advisers and Fiduciary Trust Company International to create a new global fixed income platform, which will be called the Franklin Templeton...

Allied Capital Taps Callidus To Start Senior Loan Group.
January 30, 2006... Aiming to serve the increasing number of middle market issuers looking for so-called "one-stop" financing arrangements, Allied Capital Corp. announced last week that it is tapping the resources of portfolio company Callidus Capital Management...

Ratings Movers: Global Cash Up Two Notches/Resorts Int'l Slips.
January 30, 2006... It was a mixed week for the gaming sector, which saw issuers move both up and down the ratings scale. Among the upgrades was Global Cash Access, whose bank debt received a two-notch boost to Ba3 from B2 from Moody's Investors Service as a...

The Burgeoning Middle Market: Themes To Look For In 2006.
January 30, 2006... by William J. Brown, head of structured finance, Sandelman Partners, and John M. Timperio, partner, Dechert LLP Despite rising energy and home prices, the war in Iraq and an unusually severe hurricane season, the economy remained healthy in...