Syneos Health, EnergySolutions, Baldwin Risk Partners release price guidance

By Sara Rosenberg

New York, Sept. 7 – In the primary market on Thursday, Syneos Health Inc., EnergySolutions and Baldwin Risk Partners LLC all released price talk on their term loan transactions.

Furthermore, Nomad Foods LLC, Forward Air Corp. and Creative Artists Agency LLC joined the near-term new-issue calendar.

Syneos sets talk

Syneos Health held its lender call on Thursday morning and announced talk on its $2 billion seven-year term loan B (B1/B/BB) at SOFR plus 450 basis points with a 0% floor, an original issue discount of 97 and 101 soft call protection for six months, according to a market source.

The company’s $2.5 billion of credit facilities also include a $500 million revolver.

Commitments are due at 5 p.m. ET on Sept. 20, the source added.

Goldman Sachs Bank USA, UBS Investment Bank, RBC Capital Markets LLC, BMO Capital Markets Corp., HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., Wells Fargo Securities LLC, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Jefferies LLC, Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc., Natixis, Truist Securities Inc., Citizens Bank, MUFG, SMBC, Capital One and Societe Generale are leading the deal.

Syneos being acquired

Syneos will use the credit facilities and $1.7 billion of senior secured notes to help fund its buyout by Elliott Investment Management, Patient Square Capital and Veritas Capital for $43 per share in cash in a transaction valued at about $7.1 billion, including outstanding debt, and to pay related fees and expenses.

Closing on the buyout is expected this year, subject to the approval of Syneos shareholders and other customary conditions, including regulatory approvals.

Syneos is a Morrisville, N.C.-based contract research organizations and contract commercial organization.

EnergySolutions guidance

EnergySolutions came out with talk of SOFR plus 425 bps with a 0.5% floor, an original issue discount of 98 to 98.5 and 101 soft call protection for six months on its $640 million seven-year term loan B (B2/B) that launched with a call in the morning, a market source said.

Commitments are due at 5 p.m. ET on Sept. 19, the source added.

RBC Capital Markets is the left lead on the deal, which will be used to refinance an existing roughly $546 million term loan B due 2025 priced at SOFR plus 375 bps, to partially pay down revolver borrowings and to fund the acquisition of Williams Industrial Services Group Inc.’s nuclear, fossil, energy delivery and paper mill operations for $60 million.

Triartisan is the sponsor.

EnergySolutions is a Salt Lake City-based nuclear services company.

Baldwin holds call

Baldwin Risk Partners emerged with plans to hold a lender call at 3 p.m. ET to launch a fungible $100 million add-on term loan B due October 2027 talked with an original issue discount of 99.05, a market source remarked.

Pricing on the add-on term loan is SOFR+CSA plus 350 bps with a 0.5% floor. CSA is 11.448 bps one-month rate, 26.161 bps three-month rate and 42.826 bps six-month rate.

Commitments are due at 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday, the source added.

JPMorgan Chase Bank is the left lead on the deal that will be used to repay some revolver borrowings and for general corporate purposes.

Baldwin Risk, a subsidiary of BRP Group Inc., is a Tampa, Fla.-based insurance distribution firm.

Nomad readies deal

Nomad Foods set a lender call for 9 a.m. ET on Friday to launch a $700 million term loan B-4 due November 2029 that is talked at SOFR plus 300 bps with a 0.5% floor, an original issue discount of 99.5 and 101 soft call protection for six months, according to a market source.

Commitments are due at noon ET on Sept. 14, the source added.

Jefferies LLC, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., JPMorgan Chase Bank and Santander are leading the deal, which will be used to reprice an existing $700 million term loan B-2 due November 2029 down from SOFR plus 375 bps with a 0.5% floor.

The existing term loan B-2 was quoted at par bid, par ¾ offered in trading on Thursday, unchanged from Wednesday’s levels, another source added.

Nomad Foods is a U.K.-based frozen foods company.

Forward Air coming soon

Forward Air will hold a lender call at 10:30 a.m. ET on Monday to launch a $925 million senior secured term loan B for which Citigroup Global Markets Inc. is the left lead, a market source said.

According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Morgan Stanley Senior Funding Inc., Goldman Sachs Bank USA and JPMorgan Chase Bank are also part of the debt commitment group, and the commitment was for $1.85 billion of debt in the form of a senior secured bridge loan and a senior secured first-lien term loan B and for a $400 million senior secured revolver.

The debt is being done to support the acquisition of Omni Logistics LLC from Ridgemont Equity Partners and EVE Partners LLC for $150 million in cash and Forward common stock and perpetual non-voting convertible preferred stock, and will be used with cash on hand to refinance existing debt at both companies and to pay the consideration and other amounts in connection with the transaction.

Closing is expected this year, subject to the receipt of regulatory approvals and other customary conditions.

Forward Air is a Greeneville, Tenn.-based provider of transportation services. Omni is a Dallas-based logistics and supply chain management company.

Creative Artists on deck

Creative Artists Agency scheduled a lender call for 10:30 a.m. ET on Friday to launch a $425 million incremental term loan B due Nov. 26, 2028, according to a market source.

The incremental term loan has 101 soft call protection for six months, the source added.

BofA Securities Inc., BNP Paribas Securities Corp. and Credit Agricole are leading the deal that will be used to repurchase existing shares in support of the acquisition of a majority stake in the company by Artémis, the Pinault family’s investment company, from TPG and for general corporate purposes.

Closing is expected this year, subject to customary conditions.

Creative Artists is a Los Angeles-based entertainment and sports agency.

Loan indices rise

In other news, IHS Markit’s iBoxx loan indices were stronger on Wednesday, with the Leveraged Loan indexes (MiLLi) closing out the day up 0.06% and the Liquid Leveraged Loan indices (LLLi) closing out the day up 0.02%.

Month to date, the MiLLi is up 0.2% and year to date it is up 9.08%, and the LLLi is up 0.04% month to date and up 8.45% year to date.

Average secondary market bids in the U.S. on Wednesday were 92.83, unchanged from the previous day and up 1.04% year to date.

According to the IHS Markit data, some of the top advancers on Wednesday were EaglePicher’s February 2018 covenant-lite term loan B at 98, up from 80.83, Correct Care Solutions’ September 2018 covenant-lite term loan at 77.4, up from 75.4, and Matrix Medical’s February 2018 covenant-lite term loan at 95.96, up from 94.48.

Some top decliners on Wednesday were Gordian Medical/American Medical Technologies’ April 2021 term loan at 65, down from 67.33, Jo-Ann Stores’ July 2021 covenant-lite term loan B at 34, down from 35, and Juice Plus+’s November 2018 term loan at 33.9, down from 34.7.

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