Atrium breaks with term B climbing to 101 bid; Sola stays strong on second day of trading at 101¼ bid

By Sara Rosenberg

New York, Dec. 4 - Atrium Cos. Inc.'s new credit facility allocated and broke for trading on Thursday with the institutional piece hitting 101 levels. Meanwhile, Sola International Inc.'s new loan, which just hit the secondary on Wednesday, remained strong, hitting 101-plus levels during market hours.

Atrium was quoted at 101 bid, 101½ offered by the end of the day, according to a trader.

The $230 million credit facility (B1/B+) consists of a $180 million five-year term loan B with an interest rate of Libor plus 275 basis points (flexed down from initial pricing of Libor plus 325 basis points last week) and a $50 million five-year revolver with an interest rate of Libor plus 300 basis points.

There is a $100 million greenshoe on the deal (increased last week from $50 million), and the term loan B has an option to be extended for an additional two years.

CIBC World Markets and UBS Securities are the lead banks on the deal that will be used to help support Kenner & Co.'s buyout of the Dallas window manufacturer in a transaction valued at about $610 million.

Sola's bank debt was quoted at 101¼ bid, 101¾ offered on Thursday, according to a trader, who said that levels have been moving around a bit since it first began trading on Wednesday.

The $225 million credit facility (Ba3/BB-) consists of a $175 million six-year term loan B with an interest rate of Libor plus 250 basis points (flexed down from original pricing of Libor plus 300 basis points about a week and a half ago) and a $50 million five-year revolver priced with an interest rate of Libor plus 300 basis points. Pricing on the term loan B can drop to Libor plus 225 basis points if the company's leverage falls to 1.75 times.

UBS Investment Bank and JPMorgan are joint lead arrangers and bookrunners, with UBS listed on the left. Union Bank of California, a participant in the company's existing credit facility, signed on as administrative agent prior to the deal's launch and, in fact, was one of the only early commitments received.

Sola will use proceeds to refinance existing debt.

Sola is a San Diego designer, manufacturer and global distributor of plastic and glass eyeglass lenses.

Calpine Corp.'s second-lien bank debt continued its upward momentum with levels reaching 97 bid, 98 offered by the end of the day Thursday, according to a trader. On Wednesday, one trader placed the second lien paper higher by about a point on the day with levels in the area of 96½ bid, 97½ offered, while a second trader said the debt was up about ¾ of a point on Wednesday and 7/8 of a point on Tuesday, closing on Wednesday at 97 bid, 97½ offered.

Many market participants have been unable to pinpoint any particular reason for the strengthening except to say that the bonds have been doing better and market technicals are working in the paper's favor.

On Thursday, the San Jose, Calif., power company announced that it has sold to a group of institutional investors its right to receive payments under a note receivable from Pacific Gas and Electric Co. for about $133.4 million in cash.

"The sale of the PG&E note receivable represents the successful completion of another liquidity-enhancing event," said Bob Kelly, chief financial officer, in a company news release. "To date we have completed liquidity transactions totaling over $2.3 billion. Our last major liquidity event, the $250 million construction financing for our Rocky Mountain project, should be completed in the next 30 days, bringing the total liquidity raised in 2003 to nearly $2.6 billion."

Proceeds from the sale of the PG&E note will be used for general corporate purposes, including the repurchase of outstanding public debt in open-market transactions.

Levi Strauss & Co.'s bank debt headed slightly lower on Thursday despite market talk that the company entered into a contract with Target, a trader said. The paper was quoted at 102 bid, 102¾ offered, compared to previous levels of 102½ bid, 103¼ offered, the trader added.

Levi Strauss is a San Francisco apparel company.

Following up, commitments are due on Friday for The Phoenix Cos. Inc.'s proposed credit facility, according to a market source. The company is targeting obtaining a credit facility sized at $150 million consisting of a $112.5 million revolver and a $37.5 million term loan A, however, whether the structure will remain as such remains to be seen until all commitments are in, the source explained.

Both tranches are priced with an interest rate of Libor plus 175 basis points and have a tenor of three years.

Fleet and Wachovia are the co-lead arrangers on the deal.

Proceeds will be used to refinance the company's existing $100 million credit facility and for general corporate purposes.

The Phoenix Cos. is a Hartford, Conn., provider of wealth management products and services.

A year-end close is being targeted for Carlisle Leasing International's $175 million four-year revolver, which is priced with an interest rate of Libor plus 200 basis points, according to a market source.

The deal was launched Wednesday via Fleet as co-lead arranger and administrative agent and Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi as co-lead arranger and syndication agent.

Proceeds will be used to refinance debt.

Carlisle Leasing is a Park Ridge, N.J., leasing company that serves refrigerated equipment requirements.

Meanwhile, Business Loan Express Inc.'s $275 million three-year revolver, which launched this past Tuesday, is targeting the end of January for closing on the loan, making syndication of this loan "no real immediate rush," according to a market professional, who added that there are "no tier one commitments at this stage of the game."

The facility is priced with an interest rate of Libor plus 162.5 basis points and is being led solely by Fleet.

Proceeds will be used to refinance the company's existing credit facility and for general corporate purposes.

Business Loan Express is a New York non-bank small business administration lender.

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