Bank Loan Report articles from October 2006

Bank Loan Report archives from October 2006

S&P Forecasts Soft Landing, Gradual Credit Deterioration.(Standard & Poor)
October 2, 2006... Analysts at Standard & Poor's Economic and Credit Outlook event last week said that while they expect the long-predicted economic downturn to happen, a soft landing is more likely than a hard fall. After 17 consecutive meetings at which...

Carlyle Closes Ninth High Yield Fund.(Carlyle Group )
October 2, 2006... Still on a roll in the world of collateralized loan obligation (CLO) issuance, private equity giant The Carlyle Group announced the close of its ninth US high yield fund last week, Carlyle High Yield Partners IX (CHYP IX). "This fund was...

Pali CDO Biz Taps Middle Market Investors.(Pali Capital)(collateralized debt obligation )
October 2, 2006... Since its inception more than a year and a half ago, brokerage firm Pali Capital's collateralized debt obligation (CDO) structuring business has provided new options for middle market insurance companies, smaller banks and wealth management...

MultiPlan Tacks On Debt For PHCS Acquisition.
October 2, 2006... MultiPlan is bulking up its debt arranged by Goldman Sachs, with a proposed $360 million six-and-a-half-year add-on senior secured term loan C. Proceeds from the new tranche will be used to finance the acquisition of Private Healthcare Systems...

BofA Shops Service Corp. Acquisition.
October 2, 2006... Bank of America is arranging a $450 million credit facility for Service Corp. International, including a $300 million revolver and $150 million term loan, to finance the acquisition of Alderwoods Group, according to a source. The new $300...

USI Holdings Bulks Up Debt.(J.P. Morgan Chase and Co.)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... USI Holdings is bulking up its current debt package, looking to add an additional $100 million of term loan debt to its credit facility arranged by JPMorgan. According to a release, the company would facilitate the added borrowings through an...

-ST_BY-.(debt financing)(Credit Suisse and CIBC)(Excel Mining Systems)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... CS and CIBC In The Market For Excel Joint lead arrangers Credit Suisse and CIBC are in the market with a $150 million credit facility for Excel Mining Systems. The new debt package, consisting of a $20 million six-year revolver, and a $130...

Dreier Announces Acquisition Of Traub, Bonacquist & Fox.
October 2, 2006... Dreier recently announced that it has acquired Traub, Bonacquist & Fox, a New York bankruptcy firm led by Paul Traub. Eight attorneys will join Dreier, including Paul R. Traub, Steven E. Fox, Susan F. Balaschak, Maura I. Russell and Wendy G....

NewStar Files IPO.
October 2, 2006... NewStar Financial announced last week that it has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering (IPO) of its common stock. Proceeds from the transaction will be used for the...

Fried Frank Expands Special Counsel.(Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver and Jacobson)(Peter Guryan, Richard Park, Andrew Silberstein )
October 2, 2006... Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson is bulking up its Special Counsel with the recent promotions of Peter Guryan, Richard Park, Jennifer Schwartz, Andrew Silberstein and Karin Weiner, as well as Elizabeth Taraila who has been promoted to...

ISDA And IACPM Announce Credit Capital Study.(International Swaps and Derivatives Association )(International Association of Credit Portfolio Managers )
October 2, 2006... The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) and the International Association of Credit Portfolio Managers (IACPM) recently announced the publication of a credit capital model study, suggesting that regulators should consider an...

Ratings Movers: Warner In Good Health, Euramax Production Down.
October 2, 2006... Women's health and dermatology company Warner Chilcott Corp. got a bump up last week when Standard & Poor's upgraded its $150 million revolver due 2011, $1.25 billion term loan B due 2012 and $240 million delayed draw term loan from a B to a B+...

U.S. Loan Market Slides Past Third For A Home Run Year.(Bank of America Corp.)(Credit Suisse Group)(Deutsche Bank AG )
October 9, 2006... Continuing the frenetic pace set in the first half of 2006, the U.S. leveraged loan market remained increasingly robust throughout the third quarter. In fact, at the end of September 2006, the year-to-date industry total was at $525 billion,...

European Loan World's Status Quo Rocks.
October 9, 2006... European leveraged loan market participants may have seen more of the same during the third quarter, but nobody's complaining. Continued strong new issuance, tight pricing in both the primary and the secondary, high leverage levels on...

New Moody's LGD Rating Shakes Up Market.
October 9, 2006... The recent implementation of Moody's Investors Service loss-given-default (LGD) assessments and probability-of-default ratings (PDR) for non-financial speculative grade corporate issuers has caused a commotion amongst debt market participants,...

Deutsche Commits To Finance Michael's LBO.(Bank of America Corp.)(Credit Suisse Group)(Deutsche Bank AG)(Brief article)
October 9, 2006... Lead arranger Deutsche Bank, along with JPMorgan, Bank of America and Credit Suisse, have committed to finance a proposed $4.8 billion debt package including a $1 billion revolver and $2.4 billion term loan for Michael's Stores. Proceeds from...

GS And JPMorgan Shop NE Energy Acquisition.(J.P. Morgan Chase and Co.)(The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.)
October 9, 2006... Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan are in the market with a $35 million five-year revolver, a $550 million seven-year term loan B and a $100 million seven-year prefunded letter of credit, for NE Energy. The company is also launching a proposed $170...

Bank Duo Commits To Arrange For Reynolds Merger.
October 9, 2006... Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse have committed to finance a $70 million six-year revolver, $1.485 billion six-year first lien term loan as well as a proposed $520 million seven-year second lien term loan and a $405 million seven-and-a-half-year...

BNP In The Market For Connacher Oil And Gas.(BNP Paribas S.A.)(Connacher Oil and Gas)(Brief article)
October 9, 2006... BNP Paribas has committed to finance a senior secured debt package of up to $180 million for Connacher Oil and Gas, consisting of a seven-year term loan B and up to a $15 million senior secured five-year working capital facility. The...

LaSalle Furnishes Brown Jordan.(LaSalle Bank; Brown Jordan Co.)(Brief article)
October 9, 2006... LaSalle is currently in the market with a $200 million debt package for Brown Jordan. The new facility consists of a $75 million revolver, a $90 million term loan and a $35 million second lien term loan. Proceeds from the first and second lien...

Palladium Taps Stumpp For Credit Officer.(Pamela M. Stumpp appointed as chief credit officer at BMO Financial Group)(Brief article)
October 9, 2006... Palladium Investment Management (PIM), established by BMO Financial Group and credit investment management industry veterans Flavio Bartmann and Conrad Voldstad, recently announced that it has hired Pamela M. Stumpp as its chief credit officer....

Ratings Movers: SP Newsprint Up On Production, Affiliated Computer Down.
October 9, 2006... Atlanta-based newsprint production company SP Newsprint Co. saw its ratings rise last week when Standard and Poor's upgraded its $75 million revolver, $80 million term loan B-1 and $145 million term loan B-2 from a B+ to a BB-. The rating...

Private Equity Gamble On Harrah's Could Swell Loan Pot.(gaming licensing process can be pretty rigorous )
October 16, 2006... With the current string of megadeals in the pipeline, including a proposed $22 million buyout of Kinder Morgan and a $33 million acquisition transaction for HCA Corp., it seems the surge to get larger deals done is only just the beginning....

European CDOs Await Basel II.(Collateralized debt obligations)
October 16, 2006... As European banks and the broader financial markets situate themselves for the impending implications of Basel II, market participants are noting - and speculating on - a number of changes to come within the growing CDO sector. European...

Data Says CLOs Are HOT, HOT, HOT.(market slowdown last spring that turned out to be merely a lull in the deal pipeline)
October 16, 2006... Despite creeping fears of a of a long-predicted economic downturn, CLO issuance remains unshaken according to market pundits. In fact, after anxiety over a market slowdown last spring that turned out to be merely a lull in the deal pipeline,...

BofA And CS In The Market For Encore LBO.
October 16, 2006... Bank of America and Credit Suisse are currently in the market with a $375 million credit facility for Encore Medical Finance. The debt package, which launched last Tuesday, consists of a $50 million six-year revolver, a $325 million seven-year...

Merrill Corp. Tacks On Debt.(seven-year second lien term loan arranged by Credit Suisse)(Brief article)
October 16, 2006... Merrill Corp. is bulking up its current credit facility with a $200 million seven-year second lien term loan arranged by Credit Suisse. The new tranche, which launched last Friday, will be used to fund a shareholder dividend. As of press time,...

Credit Suisse Commits To Buffets Buyout.
October 16, 2006... Credit Suisse is in the market with a $610 million first lien credit facility for Buffets Holdings, which announced in July that it would acquire Ryan's Restaurant Group for total consideration of approximately $876 million. The new debt...

Rent-A-Center Refinances For Acquisition.(Brief article)
October 16, 2006... Rent-A-Center recently announced plans to refinance its current senior secured debt with a $600 million addition to its term loan B, arranged by JPMorgan and Lehman Brothers. This comes as part of a recent announcement that the company would...

JPMorgan Shops Sterigenics.(Sterigenics International)(Brief article)
October 16, 2006... JPMorgan is in the market with a $30 million revolver and a $290 million term loan, for Sterigenics International. Proceeds from the new facility will be used to fund a $75 million dividend to shareholders, including the retirement of $36...

Bank Consortium To Refinance For Bally.(Bally Total Fitness Holding Corp.)(JPMorgan)(Morgan Stanley)(Brief article)
October 16, 2006... JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Canyon Capital Advisors and Goldman Sachs Credit have recently entered into an agreement with Bally Total Fitness Holding Corp. to refinance the company's existing credit facility with a $40 million revolver, $205.9...

MGM Amends And Restates Credit.(MGM Mirage Inc.)(Royal Bank of Scotland)(Bank of America)(Brief article)
October 16, 2006... MGM MIRAGE recently entered into a fifth amended and restated loan agreement to their $7 billion term loan arranged by Bank of America and Royal Bank of Scotland. The new amendments will reallocate $1.0 billion from the existing revolver so...

Loan Default Rates Remain At A Standstill.(Brief article)
October 16, 2006... For the third consecutive month, there were yet again no Moody's Investors Service-rated loans in default. This standstill leaves loan default counts unchanged from the previous quarter of five, four from the U.S. and one from France, according...

Second Lien Market Continues To Set New Records.
October 16, 2006... by Mary D'Souza, Senior Vice President, GE Capital Markets, Inc. As companies increasingly seek versatility in their financing solutions, they are more than ever choosing second lien loans. Second lien issuance through third quarter...

New CDO Managers Nibble A Piece Of The Market Pie.(Collateralized debt obligations)
October 16, 2006... While the top two U.S. cash CDO asset managers, in terms of outstanding liabilities, defended their territory for the three quarters ending June 30, an influx of new managers - particularly in the CLO space - are beginning to thin the market...

Ratings Movers: Amkor Up On Debt Obligations, IPG Down On Liquidity.
October 16, 2006... Semiconductor packaging and testing company Amkor Technology saw its ratings rise last week when Standard & Poor's upgraded its corporate credit two notches, boosting its $300 million second lien non-amortizing term loan from a CCC to a B-. The...

Hexion's Recapitalization To Introduce Large Debt Sums.(Hexion Specialty Chemicals )
October 23, 2006... The recently announced tender offering by Hexion Specialty Chemicals has investors drooling with debt hunger over the hefty credit expected to fund the note repurchase. However not all market participants are biting right away, a slowdown in...

LSTA Conference Forecasts Global Giant.(Loan Syndication and Trading Association)(Conference news)
October 23, 2006... New York - The loan market is gearing up for increasing syndication activity overseas, according panelists at the Loan Syndication and Trading Association's 11th annual conference held here last Wednesday. With the high amount of liquidity in...

TCW Predicts Another Record Year For CDOs.(Louis Lucido )
October 23, 2006... The following is an exclusive Q and A with Trust Company of the West's credit mortgage group by BLR sister publication Asset Securitization Report. Led by general managing director Louis Lucido and charged with managing more than $26 billion in...

JPMorgan In The Market For Verizon Directories.(Verizon Directories is the second largest US directory publisher)
October 23, 2006... JPMorgan is currently shopping a super-sized debt package for Verizon Directories Disposition Corp. The new offering, which was launched last Monday, includes a $250 million revolver, a seven-year roughly $1.51 billion term loan A, an...

Bank Duo Commits To Kinetek Debt.(Credit Suisse )(Goldman Sachs )
October 23, 2006... Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs are launching a credit facility for Kinetek, according to an industry source. The new debt includes a $50 million revolver, a $215 million term loan B, and a $85 million second lien term loan. Proceeds from the...

BofA And Merrill Launch PA Meadows.(Bank of America)(Brief article)
October 23, 2006... Bank of America and Merrill Lynch are currently in the market for PA Meadows after launching a new credit facility last Tuesday. The debt package includes a five-year $25 million revolver, a five-year $180 million term loan B, and a seven-year...

Bank Group Finances For Sanmina-SCI Corp.
October 23, 2006... Bank consortium Bank of America, Citigroup, and Deutshe Bank have committed to a $600 million term loan for Sanmina-SCI Corp. The new term loan is set to mature on Jan. 31, 2008, according to an SEC filing. Proceeds from the facility will be...

Morgan Stanley Shops CBA Group.(VS Holding Co.)(UI Holding Co.)(Brief article)
October 23, 2006... Morgan Stanley is currently in the market with a $135 million credit facility for VS Holding Co. and UI Holding Co., co-borrowers, according to a market source. The five-year $25 million revolver and seven-year $110 million term loan B, which...

LSTA Releases Principles For Non-Public Information.(Loan Syndications and Trading Association)(Brief article)
October 23, 2006... Last Monday, after 16 draft reviews, The Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA) released the final version of its Guiding Principles Dealing With "Material Non-Public Information." These principles, which began in September 2005,...

GSC Renames To Show Positive Growth.
October 23, 2006... GSC Partners, an alternative asset investment manager, recently announced that is has changed its name to GSC Group. The firm said that the new name reflects the recent reorganization of the firm's management and ownership structures,...

Default Rate Low Affirmed By S&P.
October 23, 2006... Default rates in the U.S. leveraged loan market declined to 1.18% in September, its lowest level since April 2005-as reported by Standard & Poor's Leveraged Commentary and Data (LCD). This comes after holding steady at 1.36% in August and July,...

Deerfield Prances Onto European CLO Market.(Collateralized loan obligations)
October 23, 2006... Deerfield Capital Management is preparing to manage a market value CLO backed by European leveraged loans. The deal is Deerfield's first foray into the European CLO market. The 300 million ($376 million) CLO is expected to price this week via...

Corporate Loan CLOs Beef Up Risk Transfer Volumes For 2006.
October 23, 2006... ABN Amro has started marketing the equity tranche for its latest Amstel CLO, which will allow the bank to transfer the risk on a portfolio of investment grade corporate loans worth 10 billion ($12.6 billion). ABN will be sole bookrunner on the...

Ratings Movers: Culligan Bubbly On Debt Pay Down, Dura Enroute To Crash.
October 23, 2006... Purified water distributor Culligan International Co. saw its loan ratings rise last week when Standard & Poor's bumped up its $110 million revolver and $215 million term loan B from a B+ to a BB-. The reason behind the ratings change was the...

Market Wonders, When Will The Credit Fairytale End?
October 30, 2006... It could not be a better time for investors to put their cash to work. With companies currently posting solid balance sheets, ample amounts of cash flow and default rates at a historically low average, corporate credit ratings are on the rise....

Derivative Fitch Adds Dimension.
October 30, 2006... Fitch Ratings recently packaged its global CDO and structured credit services into a stand-alone company called Derivative Fitch - a move that is expected to allow the agency's derivatives ratings much needed breathing room from the...

Nixon Peabody Targets Middle Market LBOs.
October 30, 2006... Tremendous volume in the leveraged buyout market has law firm Nixon Peabody LLP digging into the middle ground. The firm is beefing up its leveraged buyout practice with the strategy of quietly targeting the abundance of middle market deals,...

Bear Stearns Seeks To Fund Peach Acquisition.
October 30, 2006... After launching last Tuesday, Bear Stearns is shopping a Peach Holdings deal package with a $35 million revolver and a $300 million term loan. Proceeds from the term loan and a portion of the revolver will be used to fund the acquisition of...

Bank Group To Launch HCA Mega Deal.
October 30, 2006... Citigroup, Bank of America, JPMorgan and Merrill Lynch are in the market with $16.8 billion in bank loans in conjunction with the leveraged buyout of hospital company HCA. The new mega debt package includes a $2 billion asset based revolver due...

GE Shops DS Waters Debt.
October 30, 2006... GE Capital is currently in the market with DS Waters of America. The new debt package includes a five-year $20 million revolver and a six-year $180 million term loan. Proceeds from the facility will be used to refinance DS Waters existing...

Bank Duo Shops Oceania Cruise Acquisitions.(UBS AG)(Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.)(Oceania Cruises)
October 30, 2006... UBS and Lehman are in the market with a $400 million debt package for Oceania Cruise Holdings, which is comprised of Insignia Acquisition LLC, Nautica Acquisition LLC, and Regatta Acquisition LLC. The new debt package, which launched last...

HIT Entertainment Seeks To Amend Credit Covenants.
October 30, 2006... HIT Entertainment is currently seeking amendments to its $627 million credit facility arranged by Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch. The proposed amendments will allow the company more flexibility under its covenants. At the same time, the...

Regal Proposes Amendment to Debt Package.
October 30, 2006... Regal Cinemas Corp., a wholly owned subsidary of Regal Entertainment Group, is seeking to amend its $100 million revolver and $1.75 billion term loan, arranged by Credit Suisse. The proposed amendment will enhance the company's liquidity by...

Freeman & Co. Taps Buckley For Advisory Board.(appointed Michael D. Buckley to its Advisory Board)(Brief article)
October 30, 2006... Freeman & Co., an independent advisor to the financial services industry, recently announced that it has appointed Michael D. Buckley to its Advisory Board. In his new position, Buckley will spend most of his time with Freeman & Co. in Europe...

Ratings Movers: AMR Debt Soars To New High, Solo Cup Drains On Earnings.
October 30, 2006... It was a smooth ascension for AMR Corp. last week, when Fitch Ratings upgraded AMR's main subsidiary American Airlines two notches. The debt package, including a $325 million revolver and $448 million term loan, was bumped up to a BB- from a B...

EFG Euro Bank And Others Price CLOs In Europe/Asia.(Collateralized loan obligations)
October 30, 2006... EFG Eurobank has completed its 2.25 billion ($2.83 billion) securitization of its small enterprise (SME) loans and credit portfolio. This is the bank's first securitization of SMEs and the first deal of its type for Greece. Deutsche Bank and...

Security Spurs Popularity Of Leveraged Loans.
October 30, 2006... The market today is awash in liquidity. Even though the supply of funds has narrowed spreads and driven down lender yields, the outlook for new issuances remains very strong. New leveraged loans issuances have risen steadily over the past...