Bank Loan Report articles from March 2004

Bank Loan Report archives from March 2004

Builders FirstSource 2nd Lien Sluggish Despite Concessions.
March 1, 2004... UBS and Bear Stearns decided to change the structure on their $405 million dividend recapitalization deal for Builders FirstSource last week after receiving a chilly investor reception on the second lien tranche. Investors voiced concerns about...

CalGen Mulls June Comeback.
March 1, 2004... Loan market players were stunned last week over the collapse of Calpine Generating Company's (CalGen) $2.3 billion financing deal. Most were left wondering what the power company's next step would be to refinance its $2.5 billion revolver...

FASB Proposal Agitates Loan Sellers.(Financial Accounting Standards Board )
March 1, 2004... An accounting issue about whether to record collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) on the balance sheet appears to have been resolved, largely in the financial industry's favor. But another issue, in which the banking regulators have already...

BofA To Shop Genesco Debt Financing To Buy Hat World.(Bank of America)
March 1, 2004... Bank of America is set to launch a $175 million credit facility this week for footwear and accessories company Genesco. The deal will refinance the Nashville-based company's existing credit and partially back its $165 million acquisition of Hat...

Banks Warmly Receive Herbalife; Notes Proposed.
March 1, 2004... UBS is set to close out its $104.8 million refinancing credit for Herbalife International this week after the deal received warm investor reception when syndication launched last month. The credit includes a $25 million revolver and a $79.8...

Paasche Wears New Deutsche Bank Hats.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... In a move to advance Deutsche Bank's loan business capabilities, the bank has appointed Michael Paasche as the head of loan products. In the newly created position, located within the firm's global corporate finance division, Paasche will wear...

Stockholders Threaten Adelphia Reorg Plan.
March 1, 2004... Bankrupt cable television giant Adelphia Communications Corp. might see its long-awaited reorganization plan scuttled next month as stockholders ramp up legal efforts to have the company liquidated. The nation's fifth-largest cable operator...

CIBC To Let US Conduits Wind Down.
March 1, 2004... The fates of the two US asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) conduits administered by CIBC World Markets are still in question, though apparently CIBC is retaining the staff necessary to keep the conduits on course for natural amortization as...

Mark-it Partners/LoanX Offers Model Prices On Illiquid Loans.
March 1, 2004... In a move that aims to help market players price loans more accurately, Mark-it Partners/LoanX announced last week that it is rolling out new "Model Loan Prices" to about 100 institutional clients. The Model Loan Price will provide an...

Pricing It Right? Second Lien Rates Pose A Challenge.
March 8, 2004... Over the past year, the second lien term loan has become increasingly popular in the leveraged loan market, appearing in several leveraged credits on a regular basis. But as the second lien is increasingly used as a financing solution for...

Wachovia: Eyeing A Healthy Pipeline.
March 8, 2004... Business is booming at Wachovia Securities. The Charlotte, N.C.-based diversified financial services firm has not only established 27 brand new client relationships so far this year alone, but it has acted as leading bookrunner on all of these...

Solid Performance Drives MM CLOs.(collateralized loan obligations)
March 8, 2004... Just as middle-market loans have become increasingly popular with loan market participants over the past year, middle-market collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) are also becoming ever more prominent within the US CDO market. Indeed, analysts...

Fleet Scores With Vulcan, Peabody And Waste Connections.
March 8, 2004... Last week was a good one for FleetBoston Financial - the firm received positive reception for its bank deals. A term loan for Vulcan Capital and repricings for Peabody Energy and Waste Connections were quickly subscribed by investors. ...

Flextronics Upsizes On Oversubscription.
March 8, 2004... Flextronics International was able to upsize its proposed $750 million credit facility as lenders oversubscribed to the deal, causing lead bank ABN Amro to close out the facility last week at $1.1 billion. Lenders responded positively to the...

GE Shops TNS Refi Alongside IPO.(GE Capital)(Transaction Network Services)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2004... GE Capital is in the market with a $95 million credit facility for Transaction Network Services (TNS). The deal is intended to refinance the company's existing credit facility in conjunction with its planned initial public offering (IPO). The...

Why Today's Borrowers & Investors Lean Toward Second Liens.
March 8, 2004... Second liens have come of age. Spawned by the credit crunch of the early 2000s, second liens originally were thought of as transitional or "rescue" capital. For the most part, they were the province of companies that needed to refinance but had...

Sponsor-to-sponsor LBOs Gain Ground In US And Europe.
March 15, 2004... In Europe and the US, private equity houses are turning to the capital markets to fund what professionals in the field term sponsor-to-sponsor deals. These transactions are going to become increasingly prevalent going forward, they say, given...

Mezz Lenders Advised To Ask for Jr. Liens.(Mezzanine financing )(junior liens )
March 15, 2004... Mezzanine players need to stand up and fight for a second or silent lien on their financings, especially for larger deals - at least that's how Steven Ellis, a partner at law firm Goodwin Proctor, feels. At the Institute for International...

Sumitomo Trust Focuses on Revenue.(Sumitomo Trust and Banking Company Ltd.)
March 15, 2004... This year, Sumitomo Trust's New York-based leveraged loan business (The STB Loan Fund) is looking to invest in a more broad-based, aggressive manner. There is little alternative but to proceed this way, says Suraj Bhatia, executive vice...

JP Morgan Serves Up Waddington Recap.(Waddington IP JayCare)
March 15, 2004... JP Morgan brought a $155 million dividend recapitalization credit facility for Waddington North America to market last week. The deal from the manufacturer of disposable tableware, serving ware and specialty drink ware includes a $30 million,...

Morgan Stanley, Scotia Plan Price Flex On Railway Deal.
March 15, 2004... Morgan Stanley and Scotia Capital were planning to reverse price flex its four-year, $150 million institutional loan for Kansas City Southern last week, after the loan was more than three times oversubscribed by investors. Pricing was initially...

Scotia Adds BofA To AMC Line.(Scotia Capital Inc.)(Bank of America )(AMC Entertainment)(Brief Article)
March 15, 2004... Meanwhile, Scotia also signed Bank of America on as a syndication agent for its $175 million revolver for AMC Entertainment last week. The credit, which will refinance a $425 million revolver that is maturing April 10, is priced at Libor plus...

RBS Syndicates US Security Credit To Refi Mezz.(US Security Holdings)(Royal Bank of Scotland)(Brief Article)
March 15, 2004... The Royal Bank of Scotland's $146 million credit facility for US Security Holdings was oversubscribed as of last week. The deal includes a $25 million revolver, a $25 million acquisition term loan, a $74 million term loan B and a $22 million...

Builders FirstSource Second Lien Goes Down In Size, Up In Pricing.(Builders FirstSource Inc.)
March 15, 2004... UBS and Bear Stearns tweaked terms last week for the second time on the $405 million dividend recapitalization facility for Builders FirstSource after there were still not enough investors buying into the second lien piece after the first round...

Hogan Takes Helm Of GE Retail Finance Originations Team.(James Hogan)(Brief Article)
March 15, 2004... GE Commercial Finance's corporate lending business named James Hogan as senior VP and head of originations for its retail finance team last week. Hogan was formerly in charge of retail finance originations for the eastern United States, while...

Mezz Players Mull New Strategies In Competitive Market.
March 15, 2004... As issuer-friendly conditions in the debt markets continue, mezzanine players have found themselves in a more competitive market environment, fending off deal opposition from yield hungry, larger funds that would normally not compete in the...

Looking For New Mezz Opps? Try Europe.(Mezzanine financing)
March 15, 2004... US mezzanine investors looking for new opportunities could do worse than follow the lead of GSC Partners, and look to European mezzanine. Speaking at the IIR's 5th Annual Mezzanine Finance Forum, GSC's co-president, Keith Abell, explained why...

Market Mulls Viability Of Potential Charter Refinancing Deal.
March 22, 2004... Whisperings that a colossal $8 billion refinancing deal for Charter Communications could soon emerge circulated the bank loan and high yield markets last week. Market players said the company was holding discussions with big league arrangers...

Hedge Funds Move Out Of HY Into Loans.
March 22, 2004... Have they had enough of high yield? Yes, some sources say: After squeezing the juice out of the high yield bond market through much of last year and into 2004, hedge funds have started to retreat (in the US, at any rate), and are sinking...

Blackstone Bypasses Loan Mart For CMBS.(Blackstone Group L.P.)
March 22, 2004... The Blackstone Group has decided to bypass the bank loan market to finance its $3.1 billion acquisition of Extended Stay America. Instead, the private equity firm is financing the hotel chain buyout with commercial mortgage-backed securities...

GE Capital Syndicates Ranpak's First Lien, Second Lien Combo.(Brief Article)
March 22, 2004... GE Capital launched syndication last Wednesday of a $145 million credit facility that includes a first lien loan, second lien loan and euro tranche carve-out for Ranpak, a global paper-packaging supplier. The deal came to market a week later...

Bear Stearns Reprices Roundy's Term Loan.(Brief Article)
March 22, 2004... Bear Stearns is in the process of repricing Roundy's $250 million institutional loan, a market player said last week. The newly proposed lower rate could not be confirmed. The loan is currently priced at Libor plus 250 basis points. A...

infoUSA Institutional Tranche Blows Out.(Brief Article)
March 22, 2004... The $120 million institutional loan for infoUSA was close to three times oversubscribed last week, according to a banker close to the deal. The tranche is a part of the company's refinancing deal for a new $160 million facility. InfoUSA is a...

SunTrust To Shop Gypsum Revolver.(Brief Article)
March 22, 2004... SunTrust Bank is set to hold a bank meeting on March 23, to market a $150 million revolver for Gypsum Management & Supply. Pricing is set at Libor plus 100 basis points all-in drawn and 25 basis points undrawn, according to a banker familiar...

BMA Forms European CDO Committee.(Brief Article)
March 22, 2004... The Bond Market Association (BMA) announced last week that it has formed a European collateralized debt obligation (CDO) committee in order to provide a platform for European CDO players to share ideas and strategies to enhance liquidity,...

CSFB's Goodman In Private Equity Discussions.(Credit Suisse First Boston)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2004... Bennett Goodman might not be leaving Credit Suisse First Boston after all. The well-known Wall Street banker was rumored to be in talks with about six private equity firms about possibly defecting, but market sources now say Goodman has begun...

Jefferies Moves Into Private Placement Market.(Brief Article)
March 22, 2004... Jefferies Group Inc. is moving into the private placement market. Last week, the investment bank announced two new hires to co-head its private placement group, which will be a part of the company's high yield department. Andrew Woolford and...

Guggenheim Expands Team.(Guggenheim Capital Markets)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2004... Guggenheim Capital Markets might be on the hunt to build a convertibles desk and an equities desk as part of the firm's push to expand its presence in the middle market sector. Joseph Bencivenga, a managing director at Guggenheim, said the firm...

Guggenheim Capital Confident Of Middle Market Strategy.(Interview)
March 22, 2004... The evolution of Guggenheim Capital Markets reached a milestone last week as the New York-based financial services firm announced its first deal as lead manager - a $130 million refinancing package for Mission Resources Corp. That deal is...

CSFB Juices Up Pricing Power On Astoria Energy Project Loan.(Credit Suisse First Boston )(Brief Article)
March 22, 2004... Credit Suisse First Boston juiced up pricing on its $690 million term loan B for Astoria Energy late last week after only a minimal number of investors had bought into the deal at the originally proposed rate, sources said. Price talk was...

Warner Music Sings To $1 Billion Term Loan Oversubscription.(Brief Article)
March 29, 2004... Despite doubts by some market players as to whether pricing was high enough, the $1 billion term loan backing the $2.6 billion buyout of Warner Music Group was oversubscribed within four days of the retail syndication launch. The loan hit the...

Increased M&A Deal Terms Test Investors.
March 29, 2004... With several mega M&A-related transactions and numerous middle market merger deals in the pipeline, a bumper crop of acquisition finance loans is in the works. And investors are so eager for the deals that not only have rates hit rock-bottom,...

Fitch Surveys Companies' Derivatives Use.
March 29, 2004... As part of its ongoing efforts to focus on financial transparency and the effects of the proliferation of credit derivatives on the international financial system, Fitch Ratings last week launched a new worldwide survey of derivatives usage,...

CSFB Rolls Out Mueller Group's Fat Dividend Deal.(Brief Article)
March 29, 2004... Deal flow momentum continued last week as Credit Suisse First Boston hit the market with bank deals for Mueller Group, TransDigm, Meridian Automotive Systems and Hercules. This is while more credits from CSFB are yet to come, including a...

TransDigm Prices Down.(Brief Article)
March 29, 2004... Last week, CSFB also set out to lower pricing on a six-and-a-quarter-year, $295 million term loan B for TransDigm, an aircraft component supplier. The arranger is pitching the loan at Libor plus 225 basis points, down from Libor plus 300 basis...

Meridian Automotive Refinances With Second Lien, First Lien Deal.
March 29, 2004... CSFB and co-arranger Goldman Sachs launched syndication of a $550 million refinancing deal for Meridian Automotive last Tuesday. The bank credit includes a six-year, $275 million B loan and a five-year, $100 million revolver, both priced at...

Bristol West Credit To Emerge.(Brief Article)
March 29, 2004... Still on the horizon from CSFB is a $125 million refinancing credit for Bristol West Holdings. ING Capital is a joint lead arranger on the underwritten deal, while UBS and Bear Stearns are co-documentation agents. The credit includes a $50...

UBS, Merrill Syndicate ADESA Spinoff Deal.(Brief Article)
March 29, 2004... UBS and Merrill Lynch launched syndication last Tuesday of a $500 million recapitalization deal for ADESA Corp., the second largest wholesale vehicle auction network in North America. The deal includes a six-year, $150 million institutional...

Bank Trio Plans Facility For US Oncology Buyout.
March 29, 2004... JP Morgan, Wachovia and Citigroup were planning last week to launch syndication of a $650 million credit for US Oncology, according to a source. The deal backs the acquisition of the cancer-care services company by Oiler Acquisition Corp., an...

M&A Rebounds As Financial And Strategic Buyers Return.
March 29, 2004... While no one is ready to declare a new bull market in merger and acquisitions, the trends are favorable. The availability of financing has increased, valuations have improved, private equity as a percentage of middle market activity is growing,...

Babson To Acquire Duke Street's Debt Management Division.(David L. Babson & Company Inc.)
March 29, 2004... David L. Babson & Company Inc. (Babson) has added its name to the growing number of US financial companies looking to tap into the wealth of opportunities available in the European market. Over the past six months an increasing number of...

Second Lien Tranche Carved Out For Astoria Energy.
March 29, 2004... Investors forced Credit Suisse First Boston to alter the structure and pricing on Astoria Energy's $690 million term loan B yet again last week, despite having juiced up pricing by 100 basis points earlier this month. In this round of...

Hercules Hits Market With Bank Debt, Notes For Redux.(Credit Suisse First Boston )(Brief Article)
March 29, 2004... CSFB also emerged last Monday with a $550 million refinancing facility for specialty chemical manufacturer Hercules. The deal includes a six-and-a-half-year, $400 million term loan B priced at Libor plus 250 basis points and a five-year, $150...