Toys 'R' Us, Iridium set talk; Aspect, Select Personnel tweak deals; Portfolio auctions nab focus

By Sara Rosenberg

New York, June 21 - In primary happenings, Toys 'R' Us Inc. and Iridium Satellite LLC came out with price talk on their credit facilities as both deals were launched to investors with bank meetings on Wednesday.

Also, in the primary, Aspect Software Inc. increased pricing on all tranches contained in its credit facility and Select Personnel Services (Koosharem Corp.) played with its capital structure, carving out a second-lien term loan tranche and revising pricing on the first-lien debt.

Meanwhile, in the secondary, a couple of portfolio auctions went off during the session stealing the attention of many market players.

Toys 'R' Us released price talk on its $1 billion credit facility Wednesday as the deal was presented to potential lenders through a bank meeting that took place in the early hours of the day, according to a market source.

Both the $800 million six-year senior secured term loan and the $200 million two-year asset-sale bridge loan were launched to investors with opening price talk of Libor plus 375 basis points, the source said.

The asset-sale loan will be reduced if the company consummates specified asset sales prior to the closing of the credit facility.

Proceeds from the new credit facility will be used to refinance the company's existing U.S. bridge loan.

Bank of America, Deutsche Bank and Citigroup are joint bookrunners on the deal, with Bank of America the left lead. Credit Suisse is involved as well.

Unaudited pro forma adjusted EBITDA of Toys 'R' Us for the fiscal year ended Jan. 28, 2006 was about $418 million.

Toys 'R' Us is a Wayne, N.J., specialty toy retailer.

Iridium price talk

Iridium Satellite also released price talk on its credit facility Wednesday as it too officially kicked off syndication during market hours.

The company's $10 million revolver (B3) and $175 million first-lien term loan (B3) were presented to lenders with opening price talk of Libor plus 325 basis points, a market source told Prospect News.

And, the $50 million second-lien term loan (Caa1) was launched with opening price talk of Libor plus 650 basis points and call protection of 102 in year one and 101 in year two, the source added.

Lehman and Morgan Stanley are the lead banks on the $235 million credit facility, with Lehman the left lead.

Proceeds will be used to refinance existing debt and fund a dividend payment to shareholders.

Iridium is a Bethesda, Md., provider of satellite voice and data solutions.

Aspect flexes up

Aspect Software flexed pricing higher on all three tranches contained in its $1.16 billion credit facility not too unexpectedly as market chatter for over a week now has had the deal needing juicier spreads before wrapping up, according to a market source.

Under the changes, pricing on the company's $725 million five-year first-lien term B (B2/B+) and $50 million revolver (B2/B+) was increased to Libor plus 300 basis points from original talk at launch of Libor plus 250 basis points, the source said.

In addition, pricing on the company's $385 million six-year second-lien term loan (Caa1/CCC+) was increased to Libor plus 700 basis points from original talk at launch of Libor plus 600 basis points, the source added.

JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank are the lead banks on the deal, with JPMorgan the left lead.

Proceeds will be used to refinance existing bank debt and to fund a dividend payment.

Aspect Software is a Westford, Mass., provider of call center software and equipment.

Select Personnel tweaks deal

Select Personnel overhauled its credit facility structure, removing some funds from the first-lien term loan to create a second-lien term loan and increasing pricing on the downsized first-lien tranche, according to a market source.

The first-lien term loan (B2/B-) is now sized at $150 million, down from an original size of $215 million, and price talk has been revised upwards to Libor plus 350 basis points from original talk at launch of Libor plus 300 basis points, the source said.

On the flip side, a $65 million second-lien term loan (CCC) was added to the deal with price talk on the paper announced at Libor plus 650 basis points, the source added.

Select Personnel's $300 million credit facility (overall size unchanged) also contains an $85 million revolver (B2/B-).

Goldman Sachs Credit Partners LP is lead arranger, bookrunner, syndication agent and administrative agent on the deal, and Bank of the West will act as co-syndication agent.

Proceeds from the credit facility will be used to help fund the acquisition of RemedyTemp Inc. for $17 per RemedyTemp share in cash, or about $169 million.

The transaction is subject to RemedyTemp shareholder approval, completion of financing and other customary regulatory and closing conditions.

Select Personnel is a Santa Barbara, Calif., temporary staffing services company. RemedyTemp is an Aliso Viejo, Calif., professional staffing organization.

J.L. French shifts funds

J.L. French Automotive Castings, Inc. moved some funds out of its first-lien term loan and into its second-lien term loan.

The five-year first-lien term loan is now sized at $140 million, down from an original size of $150 million, and the six-year second-lien term loan is now sized at $65 million, up from an original size of $55 million.

Pricing on the first-lien term loan is Libor plus 275 basis points, and pricing on the second-lien term loan is Libor plus 525 basis points. The second-lien contains call protection of 102 in year one and 101 in year two.

J.L. French's $255 million exit financing credit facility also contains a $50 million five-year revolver priced at Libor plus 275 basis points with a 50 basis point commitment fee.

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are the lead banks on the deal.

Proceeds from the term loans will be used to fund the company's recapitalization under its plan of reorganization. Revolver proceeds will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes.

On Wednesday, the company announced that it received court approval of its plan of reorganization from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware and is now expecting to emerge from bankruptcy by the end of this month.

J.L. French is a Sheboygan, Wis., supplier of high-pressure die-cast aluminum automotive components and assemblies.

FleetPride boosts term pricing

FleetPride Corp. increased pricing on its $160 million covenant-light term loan to Libor plus 300 basis points from original talk at launch of Libor plus 250 basis points, according to a market source.

The term loan also recently had to have a maintenance covenant added to its structure.

Meanwhile pricing on the company's $40 million revolver was left unchanged at Libor plus 250 basis points, the source added.

Bank of America and Deutsche Bank are the lead banks on the $200 million credit facility (B2/B+).

Proceeds are being used to back the already completed acquisition of FleetPride by Investcorp, Banc of America Capital Investors and members of management from an investor group led by Aurora Capital Group and including Brentwood Associates and certain pension and endowment funds.

FleetPride is a Woodlands, Texas, supplier of truck and trailer parts service.

Portfolio auctions in spotlight

Switching to the secondary, many participants were focusing on the three portfolio auctions that bids were due on during the session, according to a trader.

All three portfolios were comprised predominantly of par names, with one sized at around $65 million, another sized at around $110 million and the last sized around $295 million, the trader added.

GM revolver bounces around

General Motors Corp.'s revolver was quoted all over the place on Wednesday depending on which trader was asked as the market was still reacting to the recent amendment news.

One trader said that the paper closed the session at 95 bid, 95½ offered, unchanged on the bid side but down a quarter on the offer side. This trader also said that an auction block of the revolver debt traded during the session at 95.

A second trader had the bank debt closing the day at 94¾ bid, 95¾ offered, down a quarter of a point on the bid side but unchanged on the offer side.

And, a third trader also had the bank debt closing around the 94¾ bid, 95¾ offered range but said that the paper had gotten as low as 94¼ on the bid side early on in the day, which the other traders said they had not seen.

The revolver had come into the spotlight on Tuesday after the Detroit-based automaker revealed plans for an amendment to its existing $5.6 billion unsecured revolving credit facility, under which all existing lenders will receive a 20% reduction in their commitments, and have the opportunity to extend to 2011 in return for collateral, pricing and structural enhancements.

Pricing on the amended facility (B2/B+/BB) is expected to fall out in the range of Libor plus 200 to 225 basis points, depending on ratings.

Collateral will consist of certain North American accounts receivable and inventory of General Motors Corp., Saturn Corp. and GM of Canada Ltd., certain plants, property and equipment of GM of Canada Ltd. and a pledge of 65% of the stock of the holding company for GM's indirect subsidiary GM de Mexico.

The amendment, which is anticipated to be completed by the end of July, must be approved by lenders with greater than 50% of the loan commitment.

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