High Yield Report articles from March 2009

High Yield Report archives from March 2009

U.S., U.K., Euro Regulators Talk CDS.(News)
March 2, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals Regulators from the U.S., the U.K. and Europe are in talks, trying to coordinate how they will regulate the credit default swap market. Representatives from the Federal Reserve Bank, the Commodity Futures...

RBS Could Axe Leveraged Lending Group February 25, 2009.(News)
March 2, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals The Royal Bank of Scotland, which is now majority-owned by taxpayers in the U.K., could close its global leveraged lending business. RBS considered scaling back the business earlier this year, but now the firm...

CastleOak To Launch HY Group.(News)
March 2, 2009... Byline: Matthew Sheahan CastleOak Securities plans to add a high yield team and hopes to get the group up and running as soon as possible, according to President and CEO David Jones. The group will initially focus on secondary trading of...

Creditors For Philly Newspapers Angry Over DIP.(News)
March 2, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals Philadelphia Newspapers, the bankrupt company that owns the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News, is getting some heat from its creditors over a $25 million debtor-in-possession loan. They...

Energy Future Holdings May Seek Debt Exchange.(News)
March 2, 2009... Byline: Editorial Staff Energy Future Holdings is likely to seek a distressed debt exchange, according to a report issued yesterday by Moody's Investors Service. Moody's said the company faces increased refinancing risk. "While a...

Moelis Nabs Another UBS Exec.(News)
March 2, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals Christopher Ryan, the former head of credit fixed income at UBS, is joining Moelis & Co., according to Bloomberg. At his new digs, Ryan will monitor risk for Moelis' clients, which include companies,...

March May See Bankruptcy Madness.(News)
March 2, 2009... Byline: Aleksandrs Rozens, IDD The nation's bankruptcy judges may be busier with new cases in March, with a pickup in activity likely coming just as many companies file annual reports that reveal details about their fiscal health. For...

Foamex Wins Court Approval For DIP Loan.(News)
March 2, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals Foamex International, a Media, Pa.-based cushion manufacturer, has received court approval to use $20 million of a $95 million debtor-in-possession loan. The financing for the DIP was provided by...

Corporate Defaults Exceeded $280B In 2008.(News)
March 2, 2009... Byline: Editorial Staff Corporate issuers defaulted on $286.6 billion in loans and bonds last year, according to Moody's Investors Service. Issuers defaulted on $239.8 billion in bonds and $42.8 billion in loans. The financial sector...

Hanesbrands Seeks Amendment.(News)
March 2, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals Hanesbrands, the Winston-Salem, N.C.-based clothing company, is looking to amend its $2.15 billion senior secured credit facility. In order to get the amendment from its lenders, Hanesbrands has offered to...

Banks Set Price Talk On Tyson ABL.(News)
March 2, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals A bank consortium led by JPMorgan has established price talk on a $1 billion asset-backed loan for Tyson Foods at Libor plus 400 bps. The proceeds from the facility will replace the company's existing...

Creditors, Companies And Banks Spar Over DIPs.(News)
March 2, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals A spate of disputes between companies and their creditors highlights just how anxious debt holders are. At the heart of these disputes is how bankrupt companies plan to use the debtor-in-possession loans they...

Apollo Could Give Realogy Shot In The Arm.(News)
March 2, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals Have no fear Apollo Management is here. The private equity firm led by Leon Black could invest approximately $150 million in Realogy to help the troubled real estate broker meet its financial covenants. ...

U.S. Could Own 36% Of Citi.(News)
March 2, 2009... Byline: Cheyenne Hopkins, American Banker Citigroup will convert a portion of its preferred securities from the Treasury Department's rescue effort into common stock equity, the department said Friday, potentially leaving the US government...

Three Companies Price Over $1.6B In HY Bonds.(News)
March 2, 2009... Byline: Matthew Sheahan Three companies priced more than $1.6 billion in new bonds on the high yield primary market after being on the calendar to price $1.2 billion. Tyson Foods priced $810 million in 10.5% senior notes due 2014 with...

Calif. Department Store Gets DIP Loan From GE.(News)
March 2, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals Gottschalks, a Fresno, Calif.-based department store owner, has received a $125 million debtor-in-possession loan from GE. Price talk on the DIP loan is at Libor plus 400 bps and includes a 50 bps commitment...

Another Newspaper Publisher Files For Bankruptcy.(News)
March 2, 2009... Byline: Tom Granahan The publisher of the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News filed for Chapter 11 Sunday, the latest newspaper company to seek protection from the bankruptcy courts. Philadelphia Newspapers LLC, which...

Station Casinos Bonds Climb After Buy Offer.(News)
March 2, 2009... Byline: Matthew Sheahan Station Casino bonds got a bump in their trading price after Boyd Gaming said it was interested in buying the struggling casino operator's Obco subsidiary, which it values at $950 million. The secondary high...

HY Bond Funds Have First Outflows Since November.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Editorial Staff High yield bond funds have experienced outflows for the first time since November, according to a report issued today by EPFR Global. High yield bond funds had outflows totaling $207 million for the week ending...

Cantor Fitzgerald Names New CEO.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Matthew Sheahan Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. has promoted Shawn Matthews to the position of CEO. He had served as head of its capital markets group. He will be responsible for Cantor's debt capital markets, investment banking and equity...

Criminal Charges May Block W.R. Grace's Exit.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals Chapter 11 doesn't protect against everything. W.R. Grace & Co., a Columbia, Md.-based chemical and construction materials company that filed for bankruptcy protection in 2001, has learned that the hard way. ...

Pimco Delays Dividend Payments.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals Pacific Investment Management Co. will postpone dividend payments for three of its closed-end funds because of the falling value of auction-rate preferred shares. The three funds are the Pimco Corporate...

Moody's: Nearly All CLO Tranches Face Downgrades.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals In one fell swoop, Moody's Investors Service today put nearly all rated tranches of U.S., European, Middle Eastern and African cash-flow CLOs on review for a possible downgrade, excluding the most senior triple-A...

MGM Mirage May Default On Debt.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Matthew Sheahan Covenant compliance may be a mirage for Las Vegas casino operator MGM Mirage. The company will default on its senior credit facility unless the economy turns around or it can obtain a waiver from creditors,...

iStar Inks Credit Facility.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals iStar Financial, a New York-based real estate investment trust, has secured a credit facility from a bank consortium led by JPMorgan. The size of the facility is still being finalized, but it is in the range...

Issuers Queue Up On High Yield Market.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Carol J. Clouse While the high yield bond primary market has held up rather well over the past couple of months, especially in light of a plunging stock market and overall economic turmoil, this week is shaping up to be especially...

Wendy's Offers Lenders A Debt Combo.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Matthew Sheahan Wendy's is looking to amend its credit agreement and is hoping its lenders agree that it deserves a break today, er, so to speak. Parent company Wendy's/Arby's Group wants to consolidate all of the revolver and term...

With Chrysler, Cerberus Bit Off More Than It Could Chew.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Danielle Fugazy, MAJ It wasn't even a year ago that Cerberus Capital Management was being hailed as one of the smartest private equity firms in the business. Reports put the firm's annual fund returns at an average of 22%, and even...

TNS Secures $250 Million TL.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals TNS, a Reston, Va.-based data communications company, has secured a $250 million term loan to help finance its purchase of VeriSign's communication services group. Price talk on the term loan is at Libor plus...

Limited Brands Amends Credit Facility.(News)(Brief article)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals Limited Brands, the Columbus, Ohio-based owner of Victoria Secret, has canceled a $300 million 364-day revolver and amended the terms of a $1.75 billion credit facility. To amend the facility, which consists...

Tropicana Eyes Loan To Exit Bankruptcy.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals Tropicana Entertainment, a Las Vegas-based casino and riverboat gambling operator, is looking to secure a $150 million loan from lenders to exit bankruptcy. The company filed for bankruptcy in May. ...

Station Casinos Rejects Buy Offer, Gets Forbearance.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Matthew Sheahan Station Casinos has rejected an offer from Boyd Gaming that would have seen Boyd acquire the troubled casino operator for $950 million. Station also inked a forbearance agreement with bondholders that gives it...

Survey: Credit Crisis Impacts 60% Of Middle Market.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Aleksandrs Rozens, IDD Managers of middle-market companies-those with revenues of $25 million to $1 billion-are not exactly upbeat in their outlook, according to a survey conducted and published by CIT Group. Specifically,...

Broder Bros. Seeks Lifeline.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Ken MacFadyen Bain Capital portfolio company Broder Bros. has tapped Miller Buckfire & Co. as its financial adviser to oversee a review of strategic alternatives and seek a solution to its growing liquidity problem. The company's...

Market: Nationalization Is Poison For Lev Finance.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals As the saying goes, oil and water don't mix. The same could be said for leveraged finance and the government. Nationalization is increasingly becoming a reality for some banks. And for those firms that are in...

CLOs Take A Hard Look At Amendments.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals A growing number of companies are looking to amend their covenants to give them the flexibility to avoid a default. And where there's an amendment, there's a group of lenders who have to sign off on it. For CLO...

Pain And Gain For Health Care Companies.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Matthew Sheahan It is a brave new world for health care regulation and government benefits for Americans, and speculative-grade health care companies face the prospect of profiting from government largesse and the possible thawing...

Spectrum Gets Court Approval To Use DIP.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals Spectrum Brands, the Atlanta-based manufacturer of Rayovac batteries and Remington shavers, received a court approval to use a $235 million debtor-in-possession loan it had secured from lenders last month. ...

Dresdner Loan Head Crosses The Pond.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals Aladdin Capital Management has hired the former head of Dresdner Kleinwort's global loans and transaction services business to run its global loan group. William Fish, who was based in London, will relocate...

Harrah's Seeks Another Debt Exchange.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Editorial Staff Casino operator Harrah's Entertainment is looking for another debt exchange offer to help chip away its massive debt, and this time they're getting help from private equity owners Apollo Management and TPG. ...

Harrah's Plans Debt Exchange.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Matthew Sheahan Harrah's Entertainment plans to launch a debt exchange offer to take advantage of new tax laws that give advantages to companies reducing their debt, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The company was...

Wendy's Seeks Debt Combo.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Matthew Sheahan Wendy's and Arby's are seeking a combo deal that does not include burgers or fries. The Wendy's/Arby's Group wants to combine its revolver and term loan under a single amended credit agreement, the company said...

Belo Amends Credit Facility.(News)(Brief article)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals Belo Corp., the Dallas-based owner of multiple television stations, has amended its credit facility. In order to get the amendment from its lenders, Belo reduced the size of its revolver by $50 million to...

Spansion Files For Chapter 11.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Kelly Holman, IDD Spansion, a maker of mobile phone data storage devices, filed for Chapter 11 protection Sunday. A Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company, Spansion said it secured an agreement to file for bankruptcy with an ad hoc...

GM Bondholders Request President's Ear.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals General Motors' bondholders are looking to take their grievances straight to the top. They have requested a meeting with President Obama's auto task force to toss in their two cents as to how the troubled auto...

CastleOak Adds Fixed Income Trading Director.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Matthew Sheahan New York-based CastleOak Securities has tapped Roy Jones as its director of fixed income sales and trading. Jones will be based in the firm's Chicago office. Jones was most recently director of the generalist...

Carlyle Raises $553 Mezz Fund.(News)
March 9, 2009... Byline: Kelly Holman, IDD The Carlyle Group has closed its second subordinated debt fund at $553 million, the company said today. Investors in the Washington-based private equity firm's new debt vehicle were not disclosed. James...

Anixter Prices New HY Bonds.(News)
March 16, 2009... Byline: Editorial Staff Anixter International tapped the high yield bond primary market today and netted $185 million, selling 10% senior notes due 2014, with an OID of 92.63. It was the first communications company to price new bonds on...

Banks Shop Two Credit Facilities.(News)
March 16, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals The Bank of Montreal is shopping a $97.5 million credit facility for the Francis Coppola Winery, a winery owned by famed Hollywood director Francis Ford Coppola. The facility consists of a $55 million...

Cedar Fair Cuts Dividend To Cut Debt.(News)
March 16, 2009... Byline: Editorial Staff Amusement park owner and operator Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. will decrease its annual dividend in an effort to reduce its debt. The Sandusky, Ohio-based company plans to reduce its debt by $200 million over the...

Pacific Energy Resources Files Chapter, Gets DIP.(News)
March 16, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals Pacific Energy Resources on Monday filed for Chapter 11 protection and secured a $40 million debtor-in-possession loan from lenders. The DIP facility replaces two of the company's three asset-backed credit...

S&P to Step Up CLO Manager Monitoring.(News)
March 16, 2009... Byline: Karen Sibayan, StructuredFinanceNews.com Standard & Poor's plans to supplement its process for gathering information about the systems, personnel, and other resources available to managers of S&P-rated CLO deals, the rating agency...

Ferro Reaches Agreement With Creditors.(News)
March 16, 2009... Byline: Matthew Sheahan Ferro Corp. inked an agreement with debt holders that will increase interest rates on its $300 million revolver and $292.5 million in term loans and increase its permitted leverage ratio, among other changes, the...

MS's Euro Lev Finance Chief Heads to Restructuring.(News)
March 16, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals Morgan Stanley's head of European, Middle East and Asian leveraged finance and acquisition has become the co-head of its newly created European restructuring business. Simon Parry-Wingfield will work...

Specialist Boutiques Seek Cover.(News)
March 16, 2009... Byline: Avram Davis, MAJ If an investment banker were advising a client today, especially in the financial services sector, he or she would probably counsel against a sale, at least until business conditions perk up. So why are so many...

Dow Draws Down Entire $3B Revolver.(News)
March 16, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals Dow Chemical Co. on Tuesday drew down its entire $3 billion revolver to help finance its operations and repay existing debt. The move came a day after the company agreed to buy Rohm & Haas for $15 billion. ...

Hanes Amends Credit Facility.(News)
March 16, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals Hanesbrands, the Winston-Salem, N.C.-based clothing company, has amended its $2.15 billion senior secured credit facility. In order to get the amendment from its lenders, Hanesbrands had to increase the...

BNP Paribas Shakes Up HY, Cuts Distressed.(News)
March 16, 2009... Byline: Editorial Staff BNP Paribas has folded its stand-alone high yield group into debt captial markets and completely eliminated its distressed finance group, a spokeswoman confirmed. The French bank is working through a 5% overall...

Deutsche Adds To Credit Trading Group.(News)
March 16, 2009... Byline: Aleksandrs Rozens, IDD Deutsche Bank has hired two professionals from Bank of America Merrill Lynch for its global credit trading group, the bank said today. Masaya Okoshi and Sean George will join Deutsche as managing...

Fleetwood Enterprises Seeks DIP.(News)
March 16, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals Fleetwood Enterprises, a Riverside, Calif.-based manufacturer of recreational vehicles, mobile homes and travel trailers, is seeking a debtor-in-possession loan from lenders to help it restructure. Fleetwood...

Wendy's/Arby's Amends Arby's Credit Agreement.(News)
March 16, 2009... Byline: Editorial Staff Fast food restaurant operator Wendy's/Arby's Group completed an amendment of Arby's senior secured credit facility, adding Wendy's as a co-borrower, the company said today. Arby's amended credit facility...

Investors Flow Away From High Yield Funds.(News)
March 16, 2009... Byline: Matthew Sheahan High yield funds suffered a rapid reversal of fortune in late February and early March, with two straight weeks of outflows, after enjoying inflows since November. Investors were spooked by steep stock market...

Separate Accounts Better Than Equal, Investors Say.(News)
March 16, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals With so much downward pressure on CLOs, high yield mutual funds and other investment choices, an increasing number of investors are turning to separate accounts as a way to access the value in the high yield bond...

Lyondell Case Is Market's "Days Of Our Lives".(News)
March 16, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals If LyondellBasell were a TV show, it would fit right in with the daytime soaps-the storyline has plenty of drama, and it changes practically every week. The latest twist happened on March 10 when a committee...

Catch A Rising Star? Not Likely, Says S&P.(News)
March 16, 2009... Byline: Editorial Staff Potential rising stars in the high yield market are at their lowest point since Standard & Poor's began tracking them in 2002, the rating agency said in a report issued Wednesday. S&P said the number of issuers...

Cemex Pulls $500M In HY Bonds, Seeks Deal.(News)
March 16, 2009... Byline: Editorial Staff Monterrey, Mexico-based cement provider Cemex pulled a $500 million high yield bond deal indefinitely and is looking to renegotiate about $14.5 billion in debt, it announced today. Cemex had planned to use the...

Goldman Trading Arm Spars With Aleris, Creditors.(News)
March 16, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals J. Aron & Company, the commodities trading arm of Goldman Sachs, has filed documents with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Delaware, accusing sheet metal maker Aleris and some of its creditors of illegally changing...

Goldman Strategists: Bond Recoveries Could Hit Five Percent.(News)
March 16, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals Two senior credit strategists for Goldman Sachs said the recovery value for unsecured bonds could fall to as low as 5% by the end of the year, according to Bloomberg. The strategists, Alberto Gallo and Lotfi...

Masonite Files Pre-Packaged Bankruptcy.(News)
March 16, 2009... Byline: Kelly Holman, IDD Masonite International has filed a pre-packaged bankruptcy in the U.S. and Canada. The plan by the Mississauga, Canada-based door maker, a portfolio holding of New York private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis...

Dole Food To Price $325M In HY Bonds.(News)
March 16, 2009... Byline: Editorial Staff Dole Food Co. hopes that high yield investors would like a side of new bonds along with their fruit. The company plans to issue $325 million in second-lien senior secured notes due 2014. The notes will likely price...

Two Cos Look To Turn Revolver Into Term Loan.(News)
March 23, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals Two companies are looking to convert their revolving credit facilities into term loans to get access to the financing they need. Whiting Petroleum, a Denver-based oil and natural gas company, is reportedly...

Moody's: IG Cos Face Refinancing Trouble.(News)
March 23, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals Investment-grade companies will face a difficult time refinancing their debt because of the economy, according to a Moody's Investors Service report. The rating agency looked at more than 300 investment-grade...

FASB Bows: Fair Value to Get Overhaul.(News)
March 23, 2009... Byline: Steven Sloan and Cheyenne Hopkins, American Banker Just days after Congress echoed the industry's criticisms, the Financial Accounting Standards Board moved Monday to ease rules that have resulted in massive writedowns. The...

Aleris Wins Court Battle Over Two Lenders.(News)
March 23, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals A bankruptcy court in Wilmington, Del. has allowed Aleris International to borrow more than $1 billion to fund its reorganization, dismissing objections to the reorganization plan raised by Babson Capital...

MGM Offers Casinos As Collateral.(News)
March 23, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals Sometimes the house wins, and sometimes you bet the house. MGM Mirage, the Las-Vegas-based casino company that is seeking to amend the terms of its $7 billion credit facility to avoid default, has offered up...

Dayton Amends Credit Facility.(News)
March 23, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals Dayton Superior, a Dayton, Ohio-based concrete supplier, has inked an agreement with lenders to amend its $250 million credit facility. To amend the facility, which consists of a $100 million term loan A and...

Louis Dreyfus Launches Credit Fund.(News)
March 23, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals Louis Dreyfus, a French investment firm that invests in commodities, energy and real estate among other areas, is starting its first credit fund, which will focus on European distressed corporate loans, according...

Georgia Gulf Amends Credit Facility.(News)
March 23, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals Georgia Gulf Corp., an Atlanta-based vinyl manufacturer, has inked an agreement with lenders to amend its $1.2 billion credit facility. To amend the facility, which consists of an $800 million term loan B and...

Thornburg's Next Chapter May Be 11.(News)
March 23, 2009... Byline: Kate Berry, American Banker By the company's own admission, this may be the last time Thornburg Mortgage wins a reprieve from its creditors. The beleaguered Santa Fe, N.M., jumbo lender and real estate investment trust said...

Market Debates TALF's Inclusion of CLOs.(News)
March 23, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals For several months now market participants have speculated whether the government would intervene in the CLO market. Now, it seems that is becoming more likely, with bankers, market associations and investors...

Barclays Shops Tribune Receivables Facility.(News)
March 23, 2009... Byline: Richard Kellerhals Barclays is marketing a $225 million facility for Tribune Receivables, a wholly-owned special purpose subsidiary of Tribune Company, the bankrupt newspaper owner. The facility consists of a $150 million term...

Nomura Euro Lev Finance Head To Start Advisory Firm.(News)
March 23, 2009... Byline: Editorial Staff The head of Nomura's leveraged finance group in Europe has left to start a new debt advisory firm, and has taken a few other bankers with him, according to the Financial News. Michael Berry, who spent the last...

Harrah's Bondholders Tender $4.5B.(News)
March 23, 2009... Byline: Matthew Sheahan Harrah's Entertainment bondholders have tendered approximately $4.5 billion in bonds, representing 57% of the bonds' principal amount, and the company has extended the early deadline for its exchange offer, it...

Baldor Electric Seeks Credit Amendment.(News)
March 23, 2009... Byline: Matthew Sheahan While hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers were sedating themselves with green beer and marching bands this past St. Patrick's Day, Fort Smith, Ark.-based electric motor manufacturer Baldor Electric was meeting with...