First Data, Chrysler Group rise in strong market; Sterling releases guidance ahead of launch

By Sara Rosenberg

New York, Jan. 3 - First Data Corp. and Chrysler Group LLC both saw their term loan levels improve during Tuesday's trading session as the market in general started off the new year with a stronger tone.

Meanwhile, over in the primary, Sterling Infosystems Inc. came out with price talk on its credit facility as timing for the launch firmed up, and the coupon surfaced on Steel Dynamics Inc.'s proposed term loan that was marketed to banks.

First Data trades up

First Data's term loans were better and active in trading on Tuesday as the "beta name" reacted to the positive mood in the overall secondary market, according to a trader.

The non-extended term loan was quoted by the trader at 91½ bid, 92½ offered, up from 90¾ bid, 91¾ offered on Friday.

A second trader had the non-extended term loan at 90½ bid, 92 offered by late day, versus opening levels of 90 bid, 91½ offered, and the extended term loan at 84 bid, 85 offered, up from opening levels of 83½ bid, 84½ offered.

First Data is a Greenwood Village, Colo.-based provider of electronic commerce and payment services.

Chrysler gains ground

Another name to experience a noticeable rise on the favorable secondary tone was Chrysler, with its term loan B quoted by one trader at 95½ bid, 96½ offered, up from 94½ bid, 95½ offered.

A second trader, meanwhile, was quoting the B loan at 95 bid, 96 offered late in the day, up from opening levels of 94¾ bid, 95¾ offered.

Chrysler is an Auburn Hills, Mich.-based automotive company.

Sterling sets talk

Switching to the primary, Sterling Infosystems started circulating price talk on its proposed $180 million credit facility, for which a bank meeting will be held on Thursday - the previously announced targeted date, according to a market source.

Both the $20 million revolver and the $160 million term loan are being guided at Libor plus 575 basis points with a 1.5% Libor floor and an original issue discount of 98, the source remarked.

GE Capital Markets and RBS Citizens are the lead banks on the deal that will be used to refinance existing debt and fund an acquisition.

Originally, the facility was going to launch on Nov. 30, but that meeting was postponed since the company was still negotiating the purchase agreement.

Sterling Infosystems is a New York-based background screening company.

Steel Dynamics spread emerges

Also on the topic of pricing, Steel Dynamics set the coupon on its $315 million term loan at Libor plus 150 bps as the recently announced transaction has already been successfully syndicated to banks, a market source told Prospect News.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is the lead bank on the deal that will be used, along with cash on hand, to fund the buyback of $350 million of the company's $700 million of 7 3/8% senior notes due 2012.

The tender offer expires on Jan. 25 and is not contingent upon completion of the term loan.

Steel Dynamics is a Fort Wayne, Ind.-based manufacturer and seller of steel products.

VeriFone closes

In other news, VeriFone Systems Inc. completed its $1.5 billion senior secured credit facility (Ba3/BB), consisting of a $350 million five-year revolver, a $918.5 million five-year term loan A and a $231.5 million seven-year term loan B, according to a news release.

Pricing on the revolver and term A is Libor plus 275 bps and pricing on the term loan B is Libor plus 325 bps with a step-down to Libor plus 300 bps at net leverage of 2.25 times. The B loan has a 1% Libor floor and 101 soft call protection for one year and was sold at a discount of 991/2.

During syndication, the A loan was downsized from $1 billion and the B loan was downsized from $250 million. Also, term B pricing was cut from talk of Libor plus 350 bps to 375 bps, the step-down and call protection were added, and the discount tightened from 99.

VeriFone buys Point

Proceeds from VeriFone's credit facility were used to help fund the purchase of Point Group from Nordic Capital for about €770 million, consisting of €600 million cash to shareholders and the repayment of €170 million of Point debt.

Additionally, the new deal was used to refinance VeriFone's existing $217 million term loan and will be available to repay its $277 million of convertible notes that come due in June 2012.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo Securities LLC, Barclays Capital Inc. and RBC Capital Markets LLC led the credit facility.

VeriFone is a San Jose, Calif.-based secure electronic payment services company. Point is a Stockholm-based provider of multichannel electronic payment services.

Nuveen wraps acquisition

Nuveen Investments closed its purchase of a 60% stake in Gresham Investment Management LLC, a New York-based investment manager focused exclusively on portfolios providing investors access to commodities.

To fund the transaction, Nuveen got a $280 million add-on term loan (B) due May 13, 2017 that is priced at Libor plus 600 bps with a 1.25% Libor floor. The loan has 101 soft call protection for one year and was sold at a discount of 98.

During syndication, the Libor floor was moved from 1.5% and the discount came in from 97.

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, UBS Securities LLC and Wells Fargo Securities LLC led the deal.

Nuveen is a Chicago-based provider of investment services to institutions as well as individual investors.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.