Bank Loan Report articles from July 2004

Bank Loan Report archives from July 2004

Sunny D Credit Pulled As J.W. Childs Goes Back To Drawing Board.(Sunny Delight Beverages Co.)
July 5, 2004... The $375 million credit backing J.W. Childs Associates' acquisition of Sundor Brands from The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) was pulled last week after the company, which was to be called the Sunny Delight Beverages Co., missed certain earnings...

ABL Market Slow, Resurgence Ahead?(asset-based lending)
July 5, 2004... Business is slow in the US asset-based lending (ABL) market. Declining default rates and supply-hungry investors in the cash flow loan market have caused the number of transactions and volume in the ABL market to be running at about 40% of...

US Loan Market Too Expensive? Try Europe.
July 5, 2004... Forget about the US loan market - it's too expensive right now. Set your sights instead on European loans, say those who know that asset class: They are significantly cheaper than their US counterparts and the European loan market is on the...

CSFB, Goldman Shop Skilled Healthcare's 1st Lien, 2nd Lien Combo.(Skilled Healthcare Group, Credit Suisse First Boston L.L.C., Goldman Sachs and Co.)
July 5, 2004... Credit Suisse First Boston and Goldman Sachs launched syndication last week of a $260 million refinancing deal for Skilled Healthcare Group. The deal includes a five-year, $35 million revolver, a six-year, $140 million first lien term loan and...

Wallace Theaters Deal Oversubscribed.(Hollywood Theaters, Wallace Theaters)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2004... Wachovia Securities' $160 million credit for Hollywood Theaters, a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Wallace Theaters, was said to be oversubscribed soon after the bank meeting last week, according to an investor. The facility includes a...

Belden & Blake Buyout Credit A BlowOut.(Brief Article)
July 5, 2004... Belden & Blake's (B&B) $170 million credit facility syndication was shut down early last week on account of steep oversubscription levels, an investor said. The deal, led by Goldman, includes a six-year, $30 million revolver, a six-year, $40...

Worldspan Bank Facility Pulled After IPO Canceled.(Worldspan Technologies, initial public offering)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2004... Despite a successful syndication of the deal, Lehman Brothers and JP Morgan were heard to have pulled their $225 million credit for Worldspan Technologies last week after the company announced it had withdrawn plans for an initial public...

Grand Vehicle Works Out To Mart With Dividend Recap.(Grand Vehicle Works Holdings L.L.C.)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2004... Grand Vehicle Works Holdings Corp. (GVW) is in the market with a $205 million dividend recapitalization credit led by Citigroup. The credit, which launched syndication last Wednesday, includes a five-year, $30 million revolver, a six-year, $135...

Bear Stearns Staffer Jumps To Sales.(Bear Stearns Companies Inc. promotes Daniel Derman )(Brief Article)
July 5, 2004... Daniel Derman of Bear Stearns has hopped from his former position on the loan syndications desk to the loans sales desk. He is now a salesman for par loans on the new issue side, as well as for par, stressed and distressed loans in the...

ABN Amro Hires Matta For Italian FIPS Effort.(ABN AMRO Bank N.V. hires Alberto Matta, financial institutions and public sector)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2004... ABN Amro announced last week that it has hired Alberto Matta to a new role as head of financial markets FIPS (financial institutions and public sector) distribution for Italy. The new role is indicative of ABN Amro's plans to enhance its...

Europe: The Next Frontier For US Distressed Investors?
July 5, 2004... Distressed investors in the US are caught between a rock and a hard place these days with default rates reaching new lows and the pool of distressed names to pick from rapidly shrinking. In their search to find value, many have turned to...

Picus' Euro Leveraged Finance Hedge Fund Takes Flight.
July 5, 2004... Thursday, July 1, marked the official launch date of a rather unique hedge fund in Europe - the only long/short credit hedge fund dedicated to the leveraged finance space, otherwise known as Picus Capital Management LLP. Having secured $24...

David L. Babson & Company Inc., an investment management firm based in Cambridge and Springfield, Mass., announced last week that it is renaming and rebranding itself as Babson Capital Management LLC (Babson Capital).(Brief Article)
July 5, 2004... The new name is designed to help the marketplace better understand the scope and sophistication of Babson Capital's capabilities as the firm continues its commitment to creating high-quality investment solutions to meet the needs of a wide...

Ratings Agency Constraints Create Hurdles For CLO Managers.
July 12, 2004... The practice of "notching" - which is the system of lowering ratings, or refusing to rate, securities issued by certain asset pools in a structured product unless a substantial portion of the assets are rated by the same agency rating the...

Bank One Merger Bolsters JPM's Lead.
July 12, 2004... There was not much movement among the top five syndicated loan arrangers between the first two quarters of this year, according to Thomson Financial's US syndicated loans league tables. Perhaps most interesting was the significant headway for...

Weetabix Reignites Euro Flex Debate.
July 12, 2004... To flex or not to flex? That's the big question for Europe's syndicated loan market at the end of the first half of this year, as it comes to terms with JP Morgan's bold move to flex down margins on a GBP450 million facility for the buyout of...

CSFB, BofA Shop Duane Reade's ABL/Cash Flow Combo.(Credit Suisse First Boston)
July 12, 2004... Credit Suisse First Boston and Bank of America are in the market with a $405 million credit that will support the circa $700 million buyout of Duane Reade by Oak Hill Capital Partners. The credit is broken down between a $250 million...

UBS In Market With Quest Cherokee.(Brief Article)
July 12, 2004... UBS launched syndication last Wednesday of a fully underwritten, $155 million refinancing credit for Quest Cherokee. The deal includes a five-year, $20 million revolver and a five-year, $15 million synthetic letter-of-credit facility, both...

UBS To Launch Kranson Buyout Facility.(Brief Article)
July 12, 2004... UBS is planning to launch this Wednesday a $170 million credit facility to back AEA Investors' buyout of Kranson Industries. The deal includes a six-year, $30 million revolver and a seven-year, $140 million term loan. St. Louis-based...

JP Morgan To Lead Newspaper Merger Deal.(Brief Article)
July 12, 2004... JP Morgan has been chosen to lead a credit facility in the neighborhood of $1.05 billion that will, in part, back the Journal Register Company's plans to acquire 21st Century Newspapers for $415 million in cash from Kelso & Co. and Goldman...

GE Restructuring Group Names New Head of Lead Central Region Origination.(Brief Article)
July 12, 2004... GE Commercial Finance Corporate Lending's restructuring group recently named Penny Friedman as a senior vice president in charge of origination efforts in the firm's central US region. GE's restructuring group secures financing, usually ranging...

The Leveraged Loan Market: Growth And Opportunity.
July 12, 2004... After a period of consolidation, the leveraged loan market is now characterized by steady growth and new entrants, with the market receiving a pronounced boost from an improving economy, M&A activity, relatively low interest rates and improving...

Harrah's/Caesars Deal Has Banks Hoping For Imitators.(Harrah's Entertainment, Caesars Entertainment)
July 19, 2004... The proposed $5.2 billion merger of top gaming companies Harrah's Entertainment and Caesars Entertainment has completed a shockingly swift consolidation of all the top casino players in the US, and now gaming bankers expect the next tier of...

CSFB's Holistic Approach To Lev Finance.
July 19, 2004... Change is afoot at Credit Suisse First Boston, as Brady Dougan, the investment bank's new CEO, announced his new management team last week. Despite some notable departures from CSFB's management team, Dougan was able to persuade most to stay,...

Traditional HY Investors Consider Loans.(high yield, leveraged bank loans)
July 19, 2004... With further interest rate hikes looming, many traditional high yield investors are looking at leveraged bank loans as a place to put their money, especially amid the high yield market's relatively low returns and coupons. Not only are they...

Gleason Corp. Credit Tweaked On Oversubscription.
July 19, 2004... Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein and M&T Bank tweaked the $250 million credit for Gleason Corp. last week, following considerable investor oversubscription to the deal. Due to the warm response, the arrangers shifted $20 million from the second...

PanAmSat Buyout Facility Hits Retail Syndication.(PanAmSat Corp., term loan B)
July 19, 2004... The $1.86 billion term loan B for satellite company PanAmSat Corp. hit retail syndication last Thursday, according to a banker. Leads Citigroup and Credit Suisse First Boston brought the institutional loan to market after a successful senior...

Goldman, Wachovia Pitch Dividend Deal For Mitchell.(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... Goldman Sachs and Wachovia Securities pitched a $155 million credit for Mitchell International last Tuesday. The deal's proceeds will go, in part, toward refinancing $23.4 million of the company's existing debt, toward a $110.3 million cash...

Bucyrus May Reverse Price Flex.(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... Investors oversubscribed to Bucyrus International's $100 million term loan last week, causing lead arranger - Goldman - to consider a reverse price flex for the loan late last week, according to a banker. The loan originally launched with Libor...

Thomas H. Lee's REFCO Financing Launches.
July 19, 2004... BofA, CSFB and Deutsche Bank launched syndication on July 12 of the $875 million credit facility backing Thomas H. Lee Partners' $2.25 billion LBO of REFCO Group, a futures brokerage firm with operations in 14 countries. The bank deal includes...

LSTA Implements Job Posting Site.(The Loan Syndications and Trading Association)(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... Last week, The Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA) announced the launch of a job opportunities section on its Web site, called Loan Market Jobs. "The LSTA hosts the Job Posting Section as a market-wide benefit in an effort to...

RBS Adds Structured Credit Platform To CDO Group.(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... With a decent showing this year already, RBS Greenwich Capital is planning a significant expansion of its collateralized debt obligation (CDO) group, affirming its commitment to the sector with the hire of Romita Shetty, who starts later this...

Using An ABL With A Canadian Income Trust Can Pay Dividends.(Asset Based Loan)
July 19, 2004... Asset-based loans historically have been used in restructurings and turnarounds, but increasingly companies with strong financial performance are choosing asset-based loans to fuel their growth strategies. Bumble Bee Holdings (Bumble Bee), is a...

Venetian Credit To Launch Amid Casino Deal Mania.(Venetian Casino Resort, $975 million syndication, financing MGM Mirage's acquisition of Mandalay Resort Group and Harrah Entertainment's acquisition of Caesars Entertainment)
July 19, 2004... While awaiting the mega-financing deals to support MGM Mirage's acquisition of Mandalay Resort Group and Harrah's Entertainment's acquisition of Caesars Entertainment (see story, p. 1), investors can feast their eyes on a $975 million credit...

Despite Bulky Cash Coffers, US Cos Not Paying Down Debt.
July 19, 2004... Corporate cash balances for double-B to single-A-rated companies have been expanding since early 2001, but that doesn't necessarily mean that companies are putting that cash toward paying down debt. According to a Fitch Ratings study released...

Kilimanjaro Advisors Continue Ascent With First CLO.(Kilimanjaro Advisors, collateralized loan obligations)
July 26, 2004... About 15 months ago, Murry Stegelmann, who was managing director and head of GE Capital's Bank Loan Group at the time, decided it was time to make a change. After 16 enjoyable years of service to the firm, Stegelmann decided there was no time...

LSTA Draws In New, Diverse Members.(Loan Syndications and Trading Association )
July 26, 2004... As the syndicated loan market continues to attract new classes of investors, the Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA) has also experienced a growth spurt in its membership. Thus far this year, 17 new members have joined the...

Euro Loan Mart Promotes New CLOs.(Collateralized loan obligations)
July 26, 2004... With European loan volume so far in 2004 at an all-time high - 35.4 billion for the first half of this year - the pipeline for European collateralized loan obligation (CLO) issuance is stronger than ever. Four European CLOs were completed in...

BofA, Bear Stearns Shop NES' ABL Line & Jumbo 2nd Lien.
July 26, 2004... Bank of America and Bear Stearns kicked off syndication of a bulky, $275 million second lien loan for National Equipment Services (NES) last week. The six-year, second lien piece, which is being syndicated in tandem with a $300 million first...

CSFB Syndicates WilTel Communications Refi.
July 26, 2004... Credit Suisse First Boston came to market last week with a $385 million refinancing credit facility for WilTel Communications, a Tulsa, Okla.-based long distance carrier. The deal includes a six-year, $360 million term loan B and a five-year,...

Reworked NEP Buyout Deal Launches.(Brief Article)
July 26, 2004... Wachovia and Bank of New York launched syndication of a reworked $190 million credit for NEP Broadcasting last Wednesday. The arrangers are taking a second stab at syndicating the buyout facility after an original $210 million credit, which had...

Journal Register Credit Emerges.(Brief Article)
July 26, 2004... JP Morgan launched syndication of Journal Register Company's $1.05 billion credit facility last week, according to sources. The credit includes a seven-year, $425 million revolver; a seven-year, $275 million term loan A; and an eight-year, $350...

RBS Appoints Stuart To Top Loans Spot.(Brief Article)
July 26, 2004... Last week, The Royal Bank of Scotland's corporate banking, financial markets division announced its appointment of Jeff Stuart, formerly of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, as its new managing director and head of loan markets - Americas for the...

NewStar Financial Opens Its Doors.(Service introduction)(Brief Article)
July 26, 2004... A new middle market provider called NewStar Financial entered the lending arena last week. The Boston-based commercial finance company is set to provide financing to mid-sized companies, commercial real estate borrowers and issuers of...

Armada Funds Targets Higher Quality High Yield Credits.
July 26, 2004... Cynthia Cole and her investment team at National City Investment Management Company's Armada Funds are not shy in seeking out opportunities in sectors that are not necessarily en vogue. In fact, one sector the team is very positive on is...

Fixed Recovery CDS: Mitigating Cheapest To Deliver?
July 26, 2004... A credit default swap (CDS) with a fixed recovery rate that is determined at inception and applied to all credit events is sometimes referred to as a "digital" or "binary" credit default swap. These structures offer both protection-buyers and...