Traverse, NielsenIQ break; Hanesbrands changes emerge; Sedgwick, CAA and more set talk

By Sara Rosenberg

New York, Feb. 13 – Traverse Midstream Partners LLC lowered pricing on its term loan B and tightened the original issue discount, and NielsenIQ revised sizes, spreads, issue prices and call protection on its U.S. and euro term loans, and then these deals freed to trade on Monday.

Also, Hanesbrands Inc. cut the spread on its term loan B and changed the original issue discount, and Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc., Creative Artists Agency LLC (CAA), Sally Beauty Holdings Inc., Charter Next Generation Inc. and Duravant LLC (Engineered Machinery Holdings Inc.) released price talk on their loan transactions with launch.

Furthermore, Sotera Health Co. and Parts Town joined this week’s primary calendar.

Traverse flexes, frees

Traverse Midstream Partners trimmed pricing on its $1.28 billion five-year term loan B (B2/B+) to SOFR plus 375 basis points from SOFR plus 400 bps and adjusted the original issue discount to 99.25 from talk in the range of 98.5 to 99, according to a market source.

As before, the term loan has 10 bps CSA, a 0.5% floor and 101 soft call protection for six months.

Recommitments were due at 11 a.m. ET on Monday and the term loan began trading in the afternoon, with levels quoted at 99 5/8 bid, par 1/8 offered, a trader added.

JPMorgan Chase Bank is leading the term loan that will be used with a new revolving credit facility to refinance an existing $1.208 billion term loan B due September 2024, a roughly $72 million fungible add-on term loan B due September 2024 and a $50 million super senior revolver due November 2023, and to pay transaction fees and expenses.

Traverse was formed in June 2014 by the Energy & Minerals Group to build a portfolio of non-operated midstream assets, and is an equity owner of Rover Pipeline and Ohio River System midstream assets,

NielsenIQ reworked

NielsenIQ decreased the size of its incremental U.S. term loan B (B2/B) due March 2028 to $1.455 billion from $1.475 billion, raised pricing to SOFR plus 625 bps from SOFR plus 600 bps and changed the original issue discount talk to a range of 88 to 89 from a range of 92 to 93, before finalizing at 89 later in the day, a market source remarked.

The company also increased the size of its euro incremental term loan B (B2/B) due March 2028 to €500 million from $500 million equivalent, widened pricing to Euribor plus 650 bps from Euribor plus 600 bps, modified the original issue discount talk to a range of 88 to 89 from a range of 92 to 93, before firming at 89, and removed the 25 bps step-downs at 0.5x and 1x inside opening first-lien net leverage so there are no step-downs in pricing.

In addition, the 101 soft call protection on both term loans was extended to one year from six months, ticking fees were added to the loans of half the spread from days 46 to 90 post allocation and the full spread thereafter, and revisions were made to documentation, the source continued.

The U.S. term loan still has a 0.5% floor and the euro term loan still has a 0% floor.

NielsenIQ breaks

Commitments for the U.S. term loan were due at noon ET on Monday, and the debt made its way into the secondary market later in the day, with levels quoted at 90 bid, 91 offered, another source added.

Commitments for the euro term loan were due at 10:30 a.m. ET on Monday.

JPMorgan Chase Bank, UBS Investment Bank, BofA Securities Inc., BMO Capital Markets, BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Fifth Third, HSBC Securities, MUFG, RBC Capital Markets, Standard Chartered and Santander are leading the deal, with JPMorgan left lead on the U.S. loan and UBS left lead on the euro loan. BofA is the agent.

Proceeds will be used to fund the acquisition of GfK SE, to repay revolver borrowings and for general corporate purposes.

Closing is expected early this year, subject to customary conditions.

NielsenIQ is a Chicago-based information services company. GfK is a provider of data and insights to drive marketing, sales and organizational effectiveness.

Hanesbrands revised

Hanesbrands reduced pricing on its $900 million seven-year term loan B to SOFR plus 375 bps from SOFR plus 400 bps and moved the original issue discount to 98.5 from talk in the range of 97 to 98, before moving it a second time in the afternoon to 99, a market source said.

The term loan still has a 0.5% floor and 101 soft call protection for six months.

Previously in syndication, the term loan was upsized from $750 million.

After the second update to original issue discount, the commitment deadline was set at 10 a.m. ET on Tuesday, the source added. Upon the first round of changes, the deadline had been accelerated to 5 p.m. ET on Monday from 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

JPMorgan Chase Bank is leading the deal that will be used with $600 million of senior notes to refinance euro-denominated 3½% senior notes due 2024 and dollar-denominated 4 5/8% senior notes due 2024.

Hanesbrands is a Winston-Salem, N.C.-based marketer of everyday basic apparel.

Sedgwick launches

Sedgwick Claims Management Services surfaced in the morning with plans for a 10 a.m. ET lender call on Monday to launch a $3.5 billion five-year term loan B (B) talked at SOFR plus 375 bps to 400 bps with a 0% floor, an original issue discount of 98.5 to 99 and 101 soft call protection for six months, according to a market source.

Commitments are due at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, the source added.

BofA Securities Inc. is the left lead on the deal that will be used to amend and extend an existing term loan B-2 and an existing term loan B-3 into a singular amended and extended term loan B.

Sedgwick is a Memphis, Tenn.-based provider of claims management solutions to corporations, public entities, and insurance carriers.

Creative proposed terms

Creative Artists Agency held a lender call at 11 a.m. ET, launching a $1.55 billion term loan B (B2/B) due Nov. 26, 2028 at talk of SOFR plus 375 bps to 400 bps with a 0% floor, an original issue discount of 99, 101 soft call protection for six months and 0 bps CSA, a market source remarked.

Commitments are due at noon ET on Thursday, the source added.

BofA Securities Inc., TPG and others are to be announced are leading the deal that will be used to refinance the company’s existing term loan B borrowings due in 2026.

Creative Artists is an entertainment and sports agency.

Sally Beauty shops loan

Sally Beauty held a lender call at 2 p.m. ET to launch a $400 million seven-year term loan B talked at SOFR plus 300 bps with a 0% floor, an original issue discount of 99, 101 soft call protection for six months and 0 bps CSA, according to a market source.

Commitments are due at 11 a.m. ET on Friday, the source added.

BofA Securities Inc., JPMorgan Chase Bank, Truist, Citizens, Regions and US Bank are leading the deal that will be used to refinance an existing term loan B due 2024.

Sally Beauty is a Denton, Tex.-based retailer and distributor of professional beauty supplies.

Charter Next guidance

Charter Next Generation came out with talk of SOFR+CSA plus 375 bps with a 0.75% floor and an original issue discount of 99.04 on its fungible $250 million incremental term loan B that launched with a call in the afternoon, a market source said.

CSA is 11.448 bps one-month rate, 26.161 bps three-month rate and 42.826 bps six-month rate.

Commitments are due at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, the source added.

KKR Capital Markets is the left lead on the deal that will be used to repay some senior unsecured PIK notes.

With this transaction, pricing on the company’s existing term loan B will transition to SOFR from Libor.

Charter Next Generation is a Milton, Wis.-based producer of specialty films used in flexible packaging and other end-use markets.

Duravant holds call

Duravant emerged in the morning with plans to hold a lender call at 2 p.m. ET to launch a fungible $130 million incremental first-lien term loan (B1/B-) due May 21, 2028 talked with an original issue discount of 98.79, according to a market source.

Like the existing first-lien term loan, pricing on the incremental term loan is Libor plus 350 bps with a 25 bps step-up at more than 5x senior secured first-lien net leverage and a 0.75% floor.

Commitments are due at 2 p.m. ET on Thursday, the source added.

Jefferies LLC is the left lead on the deal that will be used to repay outstanding revolver borrowings.

Duravant is a Downers Grove, Ill.-based automation solutions company providing highly engineered equipment and related aftermarket parts and services.

Sotera readies deal

Sotera Health set a lender call for 10 a.m. ET on Tuesday to launch a non-fungible $425 million senior secured term loan B (BB-) due December 2026 talked at SOFR plus 375 bps with a 0.5% floor, an original issue discount of 95.5 to 96 and 101 soft call protection for six months, a market source remarked.

Commitments are due at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, the source added.

JPMorgan Chase Bank is leading the deal that will be used with cash on hand to fund a planned $408 million ethylene oxide litigation settlement in Cook County, Ill., to pay down revolver borrowings and to further enhance liquidity.

Closing is expected this quarter.

Sotera is a Broadview Heights, Ohio-based provider of mission-critical end-to-end sterilization solutions and lab testing and advisory services for the health care industry.

Parts Town on deck

Parts Town will hold a lender call at 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday to launch $300 million of incremental senior secured credit facilities, according to a market source.

Golub Capital is leading the deal that will be used to support an ABL revolver paydown and fund near-term acquisition activity.

Parts Town is an Addison, Ill.-based OEM parts distributor and service provider to the foodservice equipment market.

Fund flows

In other news, actively managed loan fund flows on Friday were negative $140 million and loan ETFs were negative $127 million, market sources said.

Outflows for loan funds in 2023 total $2.7 billion, sources added.

Loan indices slide

IHS Markit’s iBoxx loan indices were weaker on Friday, with the Leveraged Loan indexes (MiLLi) closing out the day down 0.03% and the Liquid Leveraged Loan indices (LLLi) closing out the day down 0.10%.

Month to date, the MiLLi is up 0.71% and year to date it is up 3.31%, and the LLLi is up 0.57% month to date and up 3.21% year to date.

Average secondary market bids in the U.S. on Friday were 91.96, down 0.01% from the previous day.

According to the IHS Markit data, some of the top advancers on Friday were Tradesmen/Tribe Buyer’s February 2017 term loan at 69.75, up from 62.59, Aspect Software’s May 2021 term loan at 79.75, up from 78.15, and Liftoff Mobile/Vungle’s September 2021 covenant-lite term loan B at 71.13, up from 69.80.

Some top decliners on Friday were Genesis Care’s March 2020 U.S. covenant-lite term loan B at 29.06, down from 32.67, Tosca’s February 2021 covenant-lite term loan at 77.75, down from 80.33, and RugsUSA October 2021 covenant-lite term loan B at 72.67, down from 75.

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