Giant Eagle term B add-on breaks for trading at par ½ bid, par ¾ offered

By Sara Rosenberg

New York, Jan. 16 - Giant Eagle Inc.'s $100 million add-on to its term loan B allocated and broke for trading on Friday with the tranche immediately moving up to plus par levels.

The paper was quoted at par ½ bid, par ¾ offered, according to two traders.

"I haven't seen it though," one of the traders told Prospect News. "[In general] nobody is selling anything anyway so nothing will trade."

Giant Eagle's add-on is priced with an interest rate of Libor plus 250 basis points.

Citigroup is the lead bank on the deal that will be used by the Pittsburgh grocery store chain to help fund the acquisition of stores.

El Paso Corp.'s bank debt didn't even blink at news that the company has agreed to sell 25 domestic power generation facilities to Northern Star Generation LLC for about $746 million plus the assumption of about $174 million of consolidated non-recourse debt.

The paper was quoted at 99 bid, 99½ offered, a trader said.

"It's already trading so well," the trader said in explanation of why the asset sale news failed to strengthen prices.

"We are very pleased with this transaction, which is a major step in the execution of our long-range plan," said Doug Foshee, president and chief executive officer, in a company news release. "So far we have announced or closed $2.3 billion of the $3.6 billion to $3.9 billion targeted under the plan, and we expect additional progress in the first quarter."

Proceeds will be used by the Houston energy company for debt repayment and general corporate purposes.

The transaction is expected to close during the second quarter of 2004.

SGL Carbon well attended

SGL Carbon AG's bank meeting on Friday for a $116 million six-year term loan B was said to be well attended despite the shortened session and upcoming holiday weekend, according to a market source.

No further details on the deal's progress were immediately available.

The tranche is priced with an interest rate of Libor plus 325 basis points, according to a syndicate document.

Credit Suisse First Boston is the sole lead arranger on the deal that will be used to refinance existing debt.

SGL Carbon is a Wiesbaden, Germany, manufacturer of carbon and graphite products.

CSK finalizes credit facility

CSK Auto Corp. closed on its credit facility (Ba2/B+) on Friday, according to a source close to the deal. Credit Suisse First Boston and JPMorgan acted as joint lead arrangers.

The facility contains a new $255 million 51/2-year term loan with an interest rate of Libor plus 225 basis points. Pricing on the tranche can step down to Libor plus 200 basis points if the company hits a leverage test of 2½ times, the source said.

There is also a $20 million add-on to the company's existing revolver, bringing the total size of the revolver to $145 million.

Originally the deal was launched as a $200 million term loan. However, during the syndication process the term loan was upsized to $275 million, with $200 million being earmarked for the repricing of the company's existing term loan B and $75 million earmarked to help fund a $280 million tender offer. Once the company opted to upsize its bond deal, which was also being used to fund the tender offer, by $25 million to $225 million, the term loan was reduced to its final size of $255 million, according to the source.

In addition, following the upsizing of the bond offer, the revolver add-on was reduced to $20 million from $25 million.

CSK is a Phoenix retailer of automotive parts and accessories.

Shiloh Industries Inc. closed on its new $185 million credit facility. LaSalle Bank NA acted as lead arranger and administrative agent, National City Corp. acted as co-lead arranger and syndication agent and KeyBank NA acted as documentation agent.

The facility consists of a $60 million three-year revolver, a $75 million five-year term loan and a $50 million five-year term loan, according to a company news release.

Proceeds are being used to repay about $155 million of borrowings under the company's existing credit agreement, pay related fees and expenses, and provide working capital needs and liquidity.

"Completion of this agreement is a significant achievement for the company and demonstrates a commitment of a new group of lenders to Shiloh's business strategy for the next several years," said Theodore K. Zampetis, president and chief executive officer, in the release.

Shiloh is a Cleveland-based manufacturer of first operation blanks, engineered welded blanks, complex stampings and modular assemblies for the automotive and heavy truck industries.

Six Flags Inc. closed on its $130 million add-on to its term loan B (B+), according to a company spokesperson. Lehman Brothers was the lead bank on the deal.

All of the terms that are contained in the existing $600 million term loan B remained the same on the add-on, including the Libor plus 250 basis points interest rate.

And, since the company was permitted to increase the size of its facility under the terms of the existing credit agreement, there was no need to obtain lender approval for this deal.

Proceeds were used by the Oklahoma City theme park operator to redeem the $122.5 million principal amount of the 9¾% senior notes due 2007 not called for redemption on Dec. 5, 2003.

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