Antares sells $2.11 billion; GSO/Blackstone prices; Sound Point refinances; spreads steady

By Cristal Cody

Tupelo, Miss., April 24 – Two CLO managers priced new CLOs, while another refinanced its fifth CLO of the year.

In new issuance, Antares Capital Advisers LLC priced an upsized $2.11 billion of notes in a debut middle-market CLO.

In the broadly syndicated primary market, GSO/Blackstone Debt Funds Management LLC sold $514.6 million of notes.

About $20 billion of new U.S. CLOs have priced year to date, while nearly $5 billion of middle-market CLOs have priced in 2017, according to market sources.

The CLO refinancing space also continues to remain strong. More than $66 billion of U.S. CLOs have been refinanced year to date, sources report.

Sound Point Capital Management LP priced $370.75 million of notes in a refinancing of a 2013 CLO. The transaction is the CLO manager’s fifth refinanced deal of the year.

“April has seen 35 refinancing transactions totaling $16.6 [billion] so far,” according to a BofA Merrill Lynch note released on Monday. “There is still a large universe of 2013/2014-vintage deals that have not been refinanced yet.”

U.S CLO secondary trading was light over the past week with a little more than $300 million of bonds up for bidding on BWIC lists, according to the BofA Merrill Lynch note.

CLO spreads ended Friday flat across the stack, except for BBs, which were 15 basis points wider on the week at Libor plus 625 bps, the BofA Merrill Lynch analysts said.

AAA-rated spreads were steady at Libor plus 115 bps on Friday.

Antares sells $2.11 billion

Antares Capital Advisers priced an upsized $2.11 billion of notes due July 20, 2028 in the debut Antares CLO 2017-1, Ltd./Antares CLO 2017-1, LLC middle-market CLO, according to an informed source.

The deal was upsized from $1,817,880,000.

The CLO priced the AAA-rated tranche of class A senior secured floating-rate notes at Libor plus 173 bps.

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. was the placement agent.

The notes are backed primarily by small-to-middle enterprise senior secured loans.

Antares Capital Advisers is a Chicago-based investment management firm and affiliate of Antares Holding LP.

GSO/Blackstone prices

GSO/Blackstone Debt Funds Management priced $514.6 million of notes due April 20, 2029 in the new Thayer Park CLO, Ltd./Thayer Park CLO, LLC transaction, according to a market source.

The CLO sold $302.5 million of class A-1 senior secured floating-rate notes at Libor plus 118 bps in the senior tranche.

BNP Paribas Securities Corp. arranged the offering.

The CLO is collateralized primarily by broadly syndicated first-lien senior secured corporate loans.

GSO/Blackstone priced five new U.S. CLOs and refinanced one vintage CLO in 2016.

The New York City-based firm is a subsidiary of Blackstone Group LP.

Sound Point refinances

Sound Point Capital Management priced $370.75 million of notes due July 15, 2025 in a refinancing of the vintage 2013 Sound Point CLO III, Ltd. transaction, according to a notice of executed supplemental indenture No. 2.

The CLO sold $248.25 million of class A-1-R senior secured floating-rate notes at Libor plus 99 bps at the top of the capital structure.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC arranged the deal.

The deal is collateralized primarily by broadly syndicated senior secured corporate loans.

Sound Point Capital has refinanced five vintage CLOs year to date.

The New York-based asset management firm priced three new CLO deals in 2016.

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