Bank Loan Report articles from January 2007

Bank Loan Report archives from January 2007

Hot Streak In 2006 Has Loan Market Gambling More Chips.
January 8, 2007... The same players are still in the game, but the stakes have risen as the leveraged loan market heads into 2007, and it appears that bankers are going to gamble with even bigger deals as 2006's soaring volume has investors looking for even...

Loan Popularity Soars In Euro Debt Market.
January 8, 2007... European issuers love the syndicated loan market - and the impressive $372 billion in leveraged loan paper underwritten in 2006, according to Thomson Financial, is clear proof of that. Over the course of last year, the leveraged loan space...

CLOs May Find Enemy In Lite, "Friendly" Loans.
January 8, 2007... With CLO managers ramping up funds in record numbers, investors have been scrambling to cash in on the diverse investment strategies that make these vehicles a safe choice for yield. However, a recent survey from Fitch Ratings found that these...

Credit Suisse and UBS Slide Out Tube Buyout.
January 8, 2007... Credit Suisse and UBS are in the market with a $325 million debt package for Tube City IMS Corp. The new credit facility, which launched last Thursday, consists of a six-year $165 million revolver, a seven-year $20 million synthetic letter of...

Banking Trio Begins Weight Watchers Share Plan.(Credit Suisse Group; J.P. Morgan Chase and Co.; Scotia Capital Inc.)
January 8, 2007... Credit Suisse, JPMorgan and Scotia Capital were scheduled to launch a debt package on Friday for Weight Watchers International. The new $1.2 billion credit facility consists of a six-year $700 million tack-on term loan A and a seven-year $500...

CS Clears Market For Wastequip.(Credit Suisse Group )(Odyssey Investment Partners acquired Wastequip Inc.)(Brief article)
January 8, 2007... Sole lead arranger Credit Suisse was set to launch a debt package on Friday for the leveraged buyout of Wastequip from DLJ Merchant Banking Partners by Odyssey Investment Partners. The new $381 million credit facility consists of a five-year...

Banks Gear Up For Bridal Package.(J.P. Morgan Chase and Co.; Banc of America Securities L.L.C.; Credit Suisse Group)(Leonard Green & Partners acquired Federated Department Stores' Bridal Group Division )(Brief article)
January 8, 2007... Banc of America, JPMorgan and Credit Suisse are set to launch a new credit facility on Tuesday for the leveraged buyout of Federated Department Stores' Bridal Group Division by Leonard Green & Partners. Federated signed an agreement in November...

CS Bundles Up Totes Package.(Credit Suisse Group)(Totes-Isotoner Corp.)
January 8, 2007... Sole lead arranger Credit Suisse is also launching a $275 million credit facility for Totes-Isotoner on Tuesday. The debt package consists of a five-year $85 million revolver, a six-year $125 million term loan B and a seven-year $65 million...

Waste Services Amends And Acquires.
January 8, 2007... Waste Services announced last week that it has amended its senior secured credit facility arranged by Lehman Brothers. The new amendment provides for an additional $100 million in term loans, as well as reduces the interest rate payable to...

Penn Traffic Alters Debt Outfit.(Brief article)
January 8, 2007... The Penn Traffic Company has amended its $164 million revolver arranged by GE Retail Finance. The adjustments waive Penn Traffic's requirement to provide its lenders with audited financial statements as of Jan. 29, 2005. The amendments also...

GSC Closes Third Distressed Fund.(GSC Group )(Brief article)
January 8, 2007... Alternative asset manager GSC Group announced the close of its latest control distressed debt fund, GSC Recovery III. The fund has $530 million of committed equity capital and will continue GSC's investment strategy, which targets middle market...

Calyon Bulks Up U.S. Credit Team.(Rohin Saluja, Salomon Smith Barney, Behr Rahaii)(Brief article)
January 8, 2007... Calyon recently announced four additions to its credit markets and CDO business. David Kranich, who most recently spent six years at Salomon Smith Barney, joins as a high yield trader, while Rohin Saluja joins as a correlation trader....

Cadwalader Announces Partners For Finance Teams.(Cadwalader, Wickersham and Taft)(Brief article)
January 8, 2007... Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP recently selected Julian Chung, Israel Dahan, Matthew Hendrickson, Stephanie J. Meltzer, Lisa Pauquette, Nick Shiren and Gary T. Silverstein as partners of the firm. Among the new partners with a hand in...

Market Sees Skewed Vision In AMO Acquisition.(Advanced Medical Optics)
January 15, 2007... Although it is in the business of providing 20/20 vision, Advanced Medical Optics' perception may be a bit blurry on its most recent acquisition announcement. The company will be acquiring IntraLase Corp. for approximately $808 million in cash,...

Merrill Leads Banner CDO Year.(Merrill Lynch and Company Inc.)(Collateralized debt obligations)
January 15, 2007... CDO heavyweight Merrill Lynch once again dominated U.S. CDO underwriting in 2006. The firm brought not only the greatest dollar volume in deals to the market, but also led innovation throughout the sector's record-setting year. Through a...

Stocks Drop, Doubts Rise On Doral Downgrades.
January 15, 2007... Fresh into the new year, one company is experiencing a painful hangover, but not from a joyous New Year's Eve celebration. Doral Financial Corp. was on the receiving end of downgrades on Jan. 5 from both Moody's Investors Service and Standard &...

Credit Suisse Sells Debt For Sales Pro Cydcor's LBO.(Leveraged buyouts)(Credit Suisse Group)(Brief article)
January 15, 2007... Sole lead arranger Credit Suisse is shopping a $105 million debt package for the leveraged buyout of Cydcor by private equity duo Golden Gate Capital and JP Capital. The credit facility, which launched last Tuesday, consists of a six-year $10...

Goldman Jumps Into Market With ARAMARK Acquisition.(The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.)(ARAMARK Corp.)(Brief article)
January 15, 2007... Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan are the market with a six-year $600 million revolver, a seven-year $3.66 billion term loan and a $250 million synthetic letter of credit for ARAMARK Corp. Proceeds from the term loan - which launched last Monday along...

UBS Shops Debt For On Assignment.(On Assignment Inc.'s acquisition of Oxford Global Resources)
January 15, 2007... UBS is in the market with a $20 million revolver and a $145 million term loan, which launched last Monday, for On Assignment. Proceeds will be used, along with surplus cash and On Assignment stock, to fund the acquisition of Oxford Global...

BNP Pulls Up To Market With Package For Baldor.
January 15, 2007... BNP Paribas is currently in the market with a $200 million revolver and a $1 billion term loan, which launched last Wednesday, for Baldor Electric Company. Proceeds will be used, along with issuances of common stock, to fund the $1.8 billion...

Intelsat Offers To Refinance Bridge.(Intelsat Ltd.)(Brief article)
January 15, 2007... Banc Of America Securities is in the market with a $1 billion senior unsecured term loan, which launched last Monday, for Intelsat, Ltd. Pricing on the debt is at Libor plus 300 bps. Proceeds will be used to fund the repurchase of Intelsat...

Headwaters Seeks Flexibility.(Headwaters Incorporated )(Brief article)
January 15, 2007... Headwaters Incorporated has announced that it is seeking a technical amendment to its credit facility arranged by Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan. The changes will provide the company with additional flexibility for restricted payments, including...

Primus Closes First CLO.(Primus Guaranty)(Collateralized loan obligations)(Brief article)
January 15, 2007... Primus Guaranty recently announced the close of Primus CLO I, its first collateralized loan obligation. Primus Asset Management manages the $400 million CLO, which is primarily composed of leveraged loans. Lehman Brothers underwrote the...

TriLyn and Investcorp Team Up To Launch Mezz Fund.(TriLyn LLC)(Investcorp Bank B.S.C.)(Brief article)
January 15, 2007... TriLyn LLC, an investment advisory and capital placement service, and Investcorp, a global investment group, announced last Monday the initial closing of TriLyn-Investcorp Mezzanine Partners I, L.P. The fund will invest in and hold a wide range...

LSTA Sets Membership Meeting.(Loan Syndications and Trading Association )(Public notice)
January 15, 2007... The Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA) will hold its annual membership meeting Thursday, Jan. 18 at 3 p.m. at its offices in New York. A new board of directors will be elected, along with association updates in several markets and...

Clearwater Issues Novel Asia Ex-Japan CLO.(Clearwater Capital Partners)(Collateralized loan obligations)(Brief article)
January 15, 2007... Private equity firm Clearwater Capital Partners last week launched the first publicly rated CLO backed by Asia ex-Japan distressed debt. The offering was small, at only $146 million, but it signifies the growth many say is overdue in the Asian...

IACPM Wants Standardization, Watches Risks In 2007.(International Association of Credit Portfolio Managers )
January 15, 2007... The importance of credit risk management has certainly ballooned over the past few years, with increasing competition for yield. With that in mind, the International Association of Credit Portfolio Managers (IACPM) is heading into 2007 with a...

Distressed Debt Outlook: Make Room For A Little Doom And Gloom.
January 15, 2007... Distressed debt investors in 2006 felt a lot like the Maytag repairman from the old TV commercials. They were at the ready for calls that never came as the economy hummed along blissfully. But it is a new year, and distressed debt investors...

Ratings Movers: Carrols Corp. Sizzling With IPO, Lenox Down On Shipping.
January 15, 2007... Ratings for Carrols Corp. soared last week when Standard & Poor's upgraded the company's $50 million revolver and $220 million term loan to BB- from B+. The company recently completed a successful IPO of common stock for $65.4 million, which is...

Investors Tuned In To Clear Channel Buyout.(Clear Channel Communications)(Morgan Stanley)(Credit Suisse Group)(Deutsche Bank AG)
January 22, 2007... Before the end of the year, leveraged finance investors will likely have the chance to invest in more than $20 billion in debt offered by Clear Channel Communications. The San Antonio, Texas-based media and broadcasting company, which owns more...

FairPoint Buy A Good Call, Investors Say.
January 22, 2007... FairPoint Communications' announcement last week that it will purchase the New England wireline operations of Verizon Communications has raised questions concerning a potential $1.7 billion debt financing amid declining wireline subscriptions...

Attorneys See More Blacklisted Loan Buyers.
January 22, 2007... Debt investors who are adamant about enforcing covenant rights or who are otherwise more activist in their investments may find themselves increasingly blacklisted from bank loan deals, according to attorneys who are familiar with the leveraged...

BofA To Refinance For Health Management Associates.(Banc of America Securities )(Brief article)(Statistical data)
January 22, 2007... Banc of America Securities is gearing up to launch a $3.25 billion credit facility for Health Management Associates (HMA). The new debt package, which is set to launch Wednesday, consists of a six-year $500 million revolver (expected to be...

CS Goes To Press With InterMedia Buyout.
January 22, 2007... Sole lead arranger Credit Suisse is in the market with a $131 million debt package for InterMedia Outdoors, that launched last Tuesday. The credit facility includes a five-year $10 million revolver, a six-year $86 million term loan B and a...

JPM And Lehman Team Up For Covanta.
January 22, 2007... JPMorgan and Lehman Brothers are shopping a $1.3 billion credit facility for Covanta Energy Corp. The debt package, which includes a $300 million revolver, a $680 million term loan and a $320 million synthetic letter of credit, was set to...

CS Shops Debt For Baby Buyout.
January 22, 2007... Arranger Credit Suisse launched syndication last Wednesday of a $205 million credit facility for Evenflo Co. The debt package consists of a five-year $40 million revolver, a six-year $120 million term loan B and a seven-year $45 million second...

CS Sails On With Harbor Add-On.(Credit Suisse Group)(Harbor Freight Tools)(Brief article)
January 22, 2007... Credit Suisse also launched syndication last Thursday of a $160 million term loan C for Harbor Freight Tools. The tack-on term loan had not been rated as of press time. Harbor Freight, headquartered in Camarillo, Calif., is a tool and...

ARAMARK Tightens As Investor Interest Peaks.(The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.)(J.P. Morgan Chase and Co.)(Brief article)
January 22, 2007... Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan are serving up a hot package this month with ARAMARK (BLR, 1/15/06). The deal, which launched Jan. 8, 2007, has seen a lot of movement in the market, according to sources close to the deal. The $600 million revolver,...

Roundy's Tacks On For Supermarket Gem.
January 22, 2007... Roundy's Supermarkets is launching a $57.5 million add-on term loan to the company's existing term loan B arranged by Bear Stearns and Goldman Sachs. The new term loan debt will total $800 million at closing, according to Moody's Investors...

In The Pipeline ...(Domtar Corp.)(J.P. Morgan Chase and Co)(Brief article)
January 22, 2007... JPMorgan is gearing up to launch a number of hefty debt packages in February. Expect to see credit facilities from these names hitting the market early next month... A first and second lien facility for Domtar, a $7 billion term loan B...

LSTA Announces New Board.(Loan Syndications and Trading Association appointed Jonathan Calder, Jack Yang, R. Bram Smith )(Brief article)
January 22, 2007... The Loan Syndications and Trading Association announced the election of its 2007 board of directors and officers last Thursday. Jonathan Calder, head of loan sales and trading at Citigroup global markets was elected chair of the association....

FGIC Taps Romero For MD.(Wilfred Romero )(Brief article)
January 22, 2007... FGIC Corp., the parent company of Financial Guaranty Insurance Co., has hired Wilfred Romero as managing director of structured finance. His responsibilities will include insurance securitization and the financial solutions sector. Romero...

State Street Bulks Up High Yield Team.(State Street Global Advisors appointed Thomas V. Stolberg, Charles M. Haley, Scott Richards)(Brief article)
January 22, 2007... State Street Global Advisors recently announced the appointments of Thomas V. Stolberg and Charles M. Haley as senior high yield analysts in its global fixed-income group. They will report to Matthew Steinaway, vice president and head of credit...

Q&A: Infrastructure Investing Hits U.S. Shores.(Royal Bank of Scotland's Alec Montgomery)(Interview)
January 22, 2007... Infrastructure investment has finally come of age in the U.S., as Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and others have either raised dedicated equity funds or established in-house pools of capital to target these assets. The Royal Bank of...

Morgan Stanley: CDO Managers Make Or Break Equity Returns.(Collateralized debt obligations)
January 22, 2007... A phrase repeated so often it sounds like a broken record - that the firm managing a CDO makes a difference in its overall performance - must be falling on deaf ears, some say, as more and more new managers set up shop. While a firm classified...

Rite Aid Stores Seek To Fill Prescription For Debt.
January 29, 2007... Rite Aid Corp. is looking to fill a big prescription for debt to make itself the largest chain of pharmacies on the East Coast. The Camp Hill, Pa.-based operator of drugstores plans to price a sizable debt package that may include up to $1.7...

HMA Dividend May Gamble Company's Health.
January 29, 2007... While the buzz surrounding HCA's record-breaking buyout package has quieted, Health Management Associates is looking to keep the credit spotlight on hospital operators by funding a one-time dividend of approximately $2.4 billion. But this deal...

GSC's Analysis Goes With The Cash Flow.(GSC Group)(Interview)
January 29, 2007... GSC Group's Seth M. Katzenstein, managing director and head of portfolio management and underwriting for U.S. collateralized corporate debt, and Alexander B. Wright, managing director and head of origination for U.S. collateralized corporate...

Bank Duo Serves Up Restaurant LBO.(management buyout of OSI Restaurant Partners)(Brief article)
January 29, 2007... Banc of America Securities and Deutsche Bank are gearing up to launch a $2.7 billion credit facility for the management buyout of OSI Restaurant Partners. The new debt package consists of a seven-year $1.1 billion term loan, a six-year $250...

UBS Arranges Mattress Buyout.
January 29, 2007... UBS is getting ready to jump into market with a $25 million revolver and $185 million term loan that are set to launch Thursday. The term loan will be used to fund the acquisition of Mattress Holdings Corp. by J.W. Childs Associates for...

CS And Citi Shop Cooper Refinancing.(Credit Suisse Group, Citigroup Inc. (New York, New York) and Cooper Companies Inc)(Brief article)
January 29, 2007... Credit Suisse and Citigroup are getting ready to syndicate a $650 million revolver. The new debt, whose road show began last Friday, will be used to repay The Cooper Companies' $250 million term loan and all outstanding borrowings under its...

Lehman Fires Up Yankee Candle Debt.(Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.)(Brief article)
January 29, 2007... Lehman Brothers is in the market with a $125 million revolver and $650 million term loan for Yankee Candle Co. Proceeds from the new debt, which also includes eight-year $300 million senior notes and 10-year $225 million senior subordinated...

USIS Bulks Up Debt Package.(US Investigations Services LLC)(Lehman Brothers)(Brief article)
January 29, 2007... US Investigations Services, LLC (USIS) is bulking up its revolver arranged by Lehman Brothers. The company will be increasing the amount of the facility to $90 million from $60 million and issuing an additional $75 million in WCAS mezzanine...

Novastar To Wrap First CDO.(Collateralized debt obligations)(Novastar Financial Inc.)(Brief article)
January 29, 2007... Subprime mortgage company Novastar Financial Corp. is set to close its first CDO next month, bringing the lender into a relatively small but growing group of originators using CDO technology as another form of financing. The deal came to market...

SG Hires Goulden To Head Restructuring Efforts.(Societe Generale Banka A.S. appointed Neil Goulden )(Brief article)
January 29, 2007... Societe Generale recently announced that it has launched a restructuring finance business to provide financing such as debtor-in-possession (DIP) credit facilities, exit/plan of reorganization credit facilities and out-of-court restructure...

GMAC Taps Shusterman For Senior MD.(GMAC Commercial Finance appoints Robert J. Shusterman as a senior managing director)(Brief article)
January 29, 2007... GMAC Commercial Finance recently announced the appointment of Robert J. Shusterman as senior managing director and head of the retail finance group in the firm's structured finance division. Shusterman will oversee all business development,...

Cantor Fitzgerald Adds To Debt Capital Markets.(Cantor Fitzgerald Debt Capital Markets appointed Gina Hubbell, Edward LaScala )(Brief article)
January 29, 2007... Cantor Fitzgerald Debt Capital Markets recently announced that it has established a new structured products group and has added Gina Hubbell and Edward LaScala to the team. Hubbell will head the new group and report to Irvin Goldman, chief...

Auto Deals Cause Biggest Loan Crash In 2006.
January 29, 2007... Loan defaults were relatively small in 2006, with the average size decreasing to $213 million per issuer from $447 million per issuer in 2005, according to Moody's Investors Service. Yet while dollar volume was down, certain industries remained...

The Not-So-Secured Side Of Second Liens.
January 29, 2007... Second lien bonds were a rarity just five years ago, but they are casually accepted today as an important and enduring part of the leveraged finance landscape. For investors, a second lien is supposed to promise some margin of safety in a...

The Market Asks: What's Next For Cablevision?(Dolan Media Co.'s acquisition of Cablevision Co)
January 29, 2007... With the latest "best and final" acquisition offer from the Dolan family rejected by Cablevision's Special Transaction Committee, is a debt package from the company off the table for good? Many market watchers say not necessarily. There...

Ratings Movers: Affinia Rides High On Debt, ArvinMeritor Driven To Junk.
January 29, 2007... Affinia Group's ratings jumped up a notch last week when Moody's Investors Service upgraded the company's $125 million revolver and $325 million term loan to Ba3 from B1. The upgrade is a result of Affinia's progress in restoring its margins...

Stiff Competition For Loan Paper Will Slow Creation of New Euro CLOs.(Collateralized loan obligations)
January 29, 2007... Is the heyday of European collateralized loan obligations drawing to a close? This sector, which saw unprecedented activity in 2006 as a result of a whole host of new parties (particularly entrants from the U.S.), could well be slowing...