Great Canadian Gaming, Fenwal set talk; GM, Ford trade higher; Aramark succumbs to selling pressure

By Sara Rosenberg

New York, Jan. 23 - Great Canadian Gaming Corp. and Fenwal Inc. came out with price talk on their credit facilities as both deals were launched with bank meetings during Tuesday's market hours.

Meanwhile, in the secondary market, autos continue to trade strong with General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. leading the way, and Aramark Corp.'s new strip of institutional loan debt softened a touch on market technicals.

Great Canadian Gaming held a bank meeting on Tuesday morning to officially kick off the U.S. syndication of its C$400 million credit facility (Ba2/BB), and in conjunction with the launch, price talk on the transaction surfaced, according to a market source.

The term loan B that will be the dollar equivalent of C$200 million was presented to lenders with talk set at Libor plus 200 basis points, while the C$200 million Canadian revolving credit facility is being talked at Libor plus 162.5 bps, the source said.

Revolver pricing is tied to a leverage-based grid, the source added.

Goldman Sachs and TD Securities are the lead banks on the deal, with Goldman the left lead on the term loan B and TD the left lead on the revolver.

A meeting to jump start syndication of the revolver was held last Friday for banks in Vancouver, B.C.

Proceeds from the credit facility, along with C$200 million in senior subordinated notes, will be used to repay the company's C$450 million bridge facility and to provide for working capital, capital expenditures and other general corporate purposes.

The financing is expected to close in mid-February.

Great Canadian Gaming is a Richmond, B.C., gaming and entertainment operator.

Fenwal price talk, structure emerges

Also in the primary, Fenwal announced tranche sizes and price talk on its $475 million credit facility as it too was launched with a bank meeting during the session, according to a market source.

The $300 million first-lien term loan B (B+) and the $50 million delayed-draw term loan (B+) were both launched with talk of Libor plus 275 bps, while the $75 million second-lien term loan (B-) was launched with talk of Libor plus 600 bps, the source said.

Fenwal's credit facility also includes a $50 million revolver (B+).

Morgan Stanley and Citigroup are the lead banks on the deal, with Morgan Stanley the left lead.

Proceeds will be used to help fund the acquisition of Baxter International Inc.'s Transfusion Therapies business by Texas Pacific Group and Maverick Capital, Ltd.

Texas Pacific and Maverick are buying the blood collection and processing business from Baxter for $540 million.

Butler wraps syndication

Butler Animal Health Supply LLC wrapped syndication of its $50 million term loan add-ons following a slight shift in funds and a reduction in pricing on the first-lien term loan debt, according to a market source.

The revised deal now contains a $25 million first-lien term loan B (Ba3/B) add-on, up from $20 million, and a $25 million second-lien term loan (Caa1/CCC+) add-on, down from $30 million, the source said.

Pricing on the first-lien term loan B add-on, along with pricing on the existing term loan B debt, was reduced to Libor plus 250 bps with a step down to Libor plus 225 bps at 3½ times total leverage from Libor plus 275 bps with a step down to Libor plus 250 bps at 3½ times total leverage, the source continued.

Pricing on the second-lien term loan add-on was left unchanged at Libor plus 600 bps with a step down to Libor plus 575 bps at 3½ times total leverage, the source added.

Bear Stearns acted as the lead bank on the deal that is being used to fund a dividend to the owners, Oak Hill Capital Partners II LP and Darby Group Cos. Inc.

Butler Animal is a Dublin, Ohio, distributor of veterinary supplies.

VNU repricing expected to pass

Consents were due from lenders on the repricing proposal for VNU Group BV's U.S. and Euro term loan B's, and the anticipation early in the day was that the repricing would pass, according to a market source.

Under the proposal, the U.S. term loan B is being repriced to Libor plus 225 bps from Libor plus 275 bps and the Euro term loan B is being repriced to Euribor plus 225 bps from Euribor plus 250 bps.

Citigroup is the lead bank on the repricing.

VNU is a Haarlem, Netherlands-based information and media company.

Autos stronger with demand

Moving to the secondary, the auto sector was active and strong once again on Tuesday, with General Motors and Ford both posting gains in their term loan debt, according to a trader.

General Motors, a Detroit-based automaker, saw its term loan close the day at 101 3/8 bid, 101 5/8 offered, up from Monday's levels of 101 bid, 101¼ offered, the trader said.

And, Ford, a Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker, saw its term loan close the day at 101 3/8 bid, 101 5/8 offered, up from previous levels of 101 1/8 bid, 101 3/8 offered.

"It's technicals," the trader said about the continued uptick in these two companies' bank debt levels. "People out there are feeling pretty comfortable with autos right now."

Aramark sellers apply pressure

Also in trading Tuesday, Aramark's strip of term loan B and synthetic letter-of-credit facility debt came in by about an eighth of a point for no other reason other than some selling pressure, according to a trader.

The strip of institutional debt closed the day at 101 bid, 101¼ offered, down from 101 1/8 bid, 101 3/8 offered.

"It got ahead of itself out of the gate," the trader said regarding the 101 1/8 bid, 101 3/8 offered levels that have been seen on the bank debt since it freed for trading on Friday. "Now it's just settling in," the trader added.

Aramark is a Philadelphia-based professional services company that provides food, hospitality, facility management services as well as uniform and work apparel.

McMoRan closes

McMoRan Oil & Gas LLC closed on its $100 million five-year second-lien term loan that is priced at Libor plus 700 bps, according to a company news release.

The term loan was issued with an original issue discount of 99½ and carries call protection of 103 in year one, 102 in year two and 101 in year three.

During syndication, pricing on the loan was flexed up from original talk at launch of Libor plus 600 bps, the OID was added and call premiums were revised from just 102 in year one and 101 in year two.

JPMorgan and TD Securities acted as the lead banks on the deal, with JPMorgan the left lead and the administrative agent. TD acted as syndication agent.

Proceeds are being used to repay debt under the company's revolving credit facility, for future drilling activities and other corporate purposes.

McMoRan Oil & Gas is a subsidiary of McMoRan Exploration Co., a New Orleans-based explorer, developer and producer of oil and natural gas.

Open Solutions closes

The Carlyle Group and Providence Equity Partners completed their leveraged buyout of Open Solutions Inc. for $38.00 in cash per share, according to a company news release.

To help fund the LBO, Open Solutions got a new $605 million senior secured credit facility (B+) consisting of a $75 million six-year revolver and a $530 million seven-year term loan priced at Libor plus 212.5 bps.

During syndication, pricing on the term loan was reverse flexed from original talk at launch of Libor plus 250 bps.

Wachovia and JPMorgan acted as the joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners on the credit facility, with Wachovia the administrative agent, JPMorgan the syndication agent and Merrill Lynch the documentation agent.

Open Solutions is a Glastonbury, Conn., provider of integrated enabling technologies for financial institutions.

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