Tishman Speyer sets spread guidance; Blockbuster stronger on Weinstein deal; HCA, Idearc trade up

By Sara Rosenberg

New York, Nov. 15 - Tishman Speyer Properties LP came out with price talk on its credit facility as the deal was launched with a bank meeting on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, in the secondary, Blockbuster Inc. headed higher on news of an exclusive alliance with The Weinstein Co., and HCA Inc. and Idearc saw their term loan B levels improve in active trading.

Tishman Speyer held a bank meeting on Wednesday morning to kick off syndication on its proposed $545 million credit facility, and at the launch, price talk on the transaction emerged, according to a market source.

The $175 million five-year revolver was presented to lenders with price talk of Libor plus 175 basis points and an unused fee of 50 bps, while the $370 million six-year term loan B was presented to lenders with price talk of Libor plus 175 to 200 bps, the source said.

The deal is expected to get mid-to-low BB ratings.

Proceeds from the new bank debt, along with equity and mortgage debt, will be used to fund the acquisition of a large Washington, D.C., office portfolio from The Blackstone Group LP's portfolio company, CarrAmerica Realty Corp.

Leverage is less than 60% through the bank deal.

Lehman Brothers, the lead bank on the facility, has asked lenders to commit by Dec. 1.

Tishman Speyer is a New York-based owner, developer, fund manager and operator of first-class real estate.

Blockbuster buoyed by Weinstein

Switching to trading news, Blockbuster's term loan B was better on Wednesday as investors reacted positively to news of a four-year U.S. rental rights deal with Weinstein, according to a trader.

The term loan B closed the day at par ½ bid, 101 offered, up a quarter of a point from previous levels of par ¼ bid, par ¾ offered, the trader said.

Under the agreement, Blockbuster will have exclusive rights to Weinstein's theatrical and direct-to-video movies, beginning on Jan. 1, 2007, and the two companies will share the rental revenues from those movies.

In addition, Blockbuster will carry future theatrical and direct-to-video titles released by Weinstein and will have three-year rental exclusivity for each title released. In exchange for exclusivity, Blockbuster will pay Weinstein a minimum guarantee, determined by box office performance, for each theatrical picture, and based on the acquisition or production costs for each direct-to-video title.

Blockbuster is a Dallas-based provider of in-home movie and game entertainment.

HCA, Idearc move up

HCA and Idearc, two significantly sized new issue deals that have recently hit the secondary market, saw their term loan B's inch higher amid good trading flow, according to a trader.

"It's more technical than anything else," the trader explained.

HCA, which first freed up on Tuesday, had its $8.8 billion seven-year term loan B (Ba3/BB) close the session at par 5/8 bid, par 7/8 offered, up from previous levels of par ¼ bid, par ¾ offered, the trader said.

The Nashville, Tenn., health care services company's $2.75 billion six-year term loan A (Ba3/BB) was unchanged on Wednesday at 99 5/8 bid, 99 7/8 offered.

Meanwhile, Idearc, which first freed for trading on Nov. 9, also had its $4.75 billion term loan B (Ba2/BB+) close the session at par 5/8 bid, par 7/8 offered, up from previous levels of par ¼ bid, par ¾ offered.

Idearc is the print and internet yellow pages directories business that is being spun off from Verizon Communications Inc.

NCO closes

NCO Group Inc. chairman and chief executive officer Michael J. Barrist, in partnership with One Equity Partners II LP, completed the acquisition of NCO for $27.50 per share in cash, according to a news release. The transaction is valued at about $1.2 billion.

To help fund the transaction, NCO got a new $565 million senior secured credit facility (Ba3/B+) consisting of a $100 million five-year revolver priced and a $465 million seven-year term loan B, with both tranches priced at Libor plus 300 bps.

The term loan B does have a step down provision under which pricing can drop to Libor plus 275 bps at 3.5 times leverage.

The revolver carries a 50 bps unused fee.

During syndication, pricing on the revolver and the term loan finalized at the high end of revised price talk of Libor plus 275 to 300 bps and up 50 bps from original talk at launch of Libor plus 250 bps.

Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan acted as the lead banks on the deal.

NCO is a Horsham, Pa., provider of business process outsourcing services.

Radnet closes

Primedex Health Systems, Inc. completed its acquisition of Radiologix, Inc. for about $221 million, with the combined company renamed Radnet Inc., according to a company news release.

To fund the transaction, Radnet got a new $405 million credit facility consisting of a $45 million revolver (B2/B) at Libor plus 350 bps, a $225 million six-year first-lien term loan B (B2/B) at Libor plus 350 bps and a $135 million seven-year second-lien term loan (Caa1/CCC+) at Libor plus 750 bps.

Call premiums on the second-lien term loan are 102 in year one and 101 in year two.

General Electric Capital Corp. acted as the lead bank on the deal.

Primedex is a Los Angeles-based operator of outpatient diagnostic imaging facilities. Radiologix is a Dallas-based provider of imaging services.

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