Bank Loan Report articles from March 2008

Bank Loan Report archives from March 2008

CLO Market Likes Its Transactions In Cash.
March 3, 2008... While one could hardly call the CLO market healthy, the rumors of its demise may be slightly exaggerated. It's not impossible to get a CLO transaction done, though a significantly easier time will be had by all if arrangers stay realistic about...

February Sees Surge Of High Yield Damsels In Distress.
March 3, 2008... The new year so far has brought more cuts in interest rates, a new Super Bowl champion and a new slate of Oscar winners. It has also seen a rapid expansion of the distressed debt universe. More issues have found themselves locked in the tower...

A Little Forethought Never Hurts.
March 3, 2008... I've heard it said that when news from the financial world hits the mainstream press, prompting I-bankers' mother-in-laws to start inquiring about the questionable assets used to back collateralized debt obligations, that it's a clear sign the...

Banks Tweak Deals, Restructure CLOs, Break Ranks.
March 3, 2008... Goldman Sachs has adjusted the $200 million second-lien term loan for Boise Paper, part of a debt package that includes a $250 million term loan A and a $250 million revolver, both previously priced. Goldman increased the Libor floor on the...

The Terms They Are A-Changing For Loans.
March 3, 2008... The extreme downturn the leveraged loan market is facing has brought with it a set of characteristics investors say they have never witnessed before. The biggest "X" factor in this downturn is the secondary market. With the help of...

New SEC Rules May Help Leveraged Finance.
March 3, 2008... Changes in securities regulations enacted by the Securities and Exchange Commission have made it easier for smaller companies to access the debt markets. But whether companies will be flocking to the credit markets and finding interested...

Renegade Wachovia Risks Private Equity Ire.
March 3, 2008... The business of leveraged finance conducted between Wall Street banks and financial sponsors is shaping up to be the legal equivalent of a 19th century bare-knuckle match. As an example of just how rough dealings have become, Wachovia Bank...

Tranche Warfare Boosts U.S. CDO Activity.
March 10, 2008... The lack of new issuance in U.S. structured finance CDOs does not mean the CDO market is twiddling its thumbs. Legal battles, including disputes over cash flow allocations after an event of default (EOD), have sent both buy-siders and...

Debt Markets Are But One Obstacle for Covad.
March 10, 2008... Platinum Equity is close to finally closing its deal to buy Covad Communications Group. However, Covad is not well positioned to access the debt markets, sources say. And Platinum is staying mum on its financing strategy. Covad provides...

Can Your Stomach Stand A Little Good News?
March 10, 2008... I'm wondering if good news for the debt markets might create a reaction akin to what apparently happens when a vegetarian decides she's had it with broccoli and wolfs down a T-bone steak. From what I understand, what follows can be ugly....

European Debt: Distressed Or Not Distressed?
March 10, 2008... After a couple of years with a mere sprinkling of bankruptcies in Europe, the economic tide has turned, and most distressed investors believe that 2008 will be their year, according to a recent survey of the European distressed debt market. But...

Finish Line, UBS Pay Genesco To Escape Deal.
March 10, 2008... Among the broken LBO deals that have resulted in issues being pulled from the debt markets, TheFinish Line's acquisition of Genesco was one that might have been forced through by the courts. A settlement last week put an end to the dispute over...

Banks Shop Deals For FairPoint and Repcon.
March 10, 2008... A bank group led by Bank of America, Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley has launched a $2 billion credit facility for Charlotte, N.C.-based telecom company FairPoint Communications. The facility consists of a $1.1 billion term loan B, a $500...

Macrovision Set To Launch $650 Million Debt Package.
March 10, 2008... Santa Clara, Calif.-based Macrovision plans to launch a $650 million debt offering to fund its purchase of television listings provider Gemstar-TV Guide International. While the facility could be tweaked depending on market reception, the...

Boon For JPMorgan Is Disaster For Bear Stearns.
March 24, 2008... Among the thousands of Bear Stearns employees expected to be laid off following the bank's takeover by JPMorgan Chase are a large number from its leveraged finance division. And while the acquisition will add to JPMorgan's dominance of...

No More Dead Air With Clear Channel, Providence.
March 24, 2008... After some legal wrangling with its bank and sponsor, Clear Channel Communications has paved a way to continue with its selloff of 56 TV stations for $1.1 billion to private equity group Providence Equity Partners.And a bank group led by...

Nobody Ever Promised Fair, But This Is Ridiculous.
March 24, 2008... At least once during our teenage years there comes a moment when life deals us what we perceive to be a horrible injustice, and in response to our cries of, "It's not fair!" many of us likely got the unsatisfying parental response: "Who ever...

Euro HY Converts Tempt Some Investors.
March 24, 2008... While Europe's traditional high yield bond space hasn't seen a deal since last summer, its convertible counterpart is actually the seat of much action. Chinese real estate company Country Garden issued $500 million in convertible bonds...

Credit Suisse Shops Two Deals; Vogel Departs Wachovia.
March 24, 2008... Credit Suisse is marketing a $245 million credit facility for Chicago-based artificial sweetener producer Merisant Worldwide and a $170 million second-lien term loan for Boston-based cruise ship operator Grand Circle Travel. The debt package...

Thacher Proffitt Taps Into Expanding Distressed Asset Class.
March 24, 2008... With JPMorgan scooping up 85-year-old Bear Stearns last week for $2 per share, it is safe to say that deteriorating credit conditions and market jitters continue to hack away at the U.S. economy. Taking advantage of the current situation is...

Eyes On Default Rates As Spreads Return From 800.
March 31, 2008... If video games were marked "half off" at your local electronics store, you would likely see a stampede of eager buyers clamoring for the chance to spend their money on the latest game, but when the high yield bond spread recently widened beyond...

Abitibi Gets $813M Helping Hand.
March 31, 2008... There was a spark of life in the primary high yield bond and leveraged loan markets last week, and leading the way with a tranche in each market was a refinancing deal from an unlikely hero, beleaguered paper and pulp company AbitibiBowater....

GE Shops Two Deals, Citi Loan Sales MD Departs.
March 31, 2008... GE is marketing two deals totaling $357 million this week to institutional investors. The first is a $157 million credit facility consisting of a $137 million term loan B and a $20 million revolver for Consolidated Precision Products, a...

Bridge Loans Launch Over Troubled Waters.
March 31, 2008... With current market conditions driving up the price of debt, more and more issuers are turning to bridge loans as a source of cheap financing. And their need, in turn, has created opportunities for debt investors seeking quick returns. ...

Newport Shines, Clear Channel Heads To Court.
March 31, 2008... The future of the buyout deal for Clear Channel Communications, from the perspective of institutional investors, has been anything but clear over the past few months. Last week, as the megadeal faltered, Wachovia marketed a $515 million term...

I-Banks Not Quite Springing Forward.
March 31, 2008... If life on Wall Street were produced in Hollywood, right about now would come the trite "passage of time" sequence-the flipping of calendar pages on an abandoned desk, possibly, or a view of Battery Park from a downtown window, the seasons...