Prometric, Quality Home Brands set talk; Primedia reworks deal; Stoneridge pulled; LCDX higher

By Sara Rosenberg

New York, July 30 - Prometric and Quality Home Brands Holdings LLC released price talk on their new loans as both transactions were launched to investors during Monday's market hours.

In other primary news, Primedia Inc. flexed pricing higher on its credit facility and added an original issue discount and soft call protection to the term loan tranche.

And, primary weakness has taken another deal out of the picture as Stoneridge Inc. opted to pull its credit facility from market.

Meanwhile, over in the secondary market, LCDX was actually stronger on Monday, along with the market in general, which saw names like Swift Transportation Co. Inc. and Movie Gallery Inc. push their way higher.

Prometric held a bank meeting on Monday to kick off syndication on its $215 million credit facility (Ba3), and in connection with the launch, price talk on the deal surfaced, according to a market source.

Both the $25 million five-year revolver and the $190 million six-year first-lien term loan are being talked at Libor plus 300 basis points, the source said.

In addition, the term loan is being offered to investors with an original issue discount of 99, the source remarked.

The revolver carries a 50 bps commitment fee.

Credit Suisse is the sole lead arranger on the deal.

Proceeds will be used to fund ETS' acquisition of Prometric from the Thomson Corp. for $435 million.

The purchase price includes $310 million in cash plus $125 million to be paid through a promissory note due in 2014 and is subject to certain post-closing adjustments.

Other acquisition financing will come from cash.

When the acquisition was first announced, the company had said that it would be getting a new term loan sized between $175 million and $200 million.

Prometric is a Baltimore-based provider of technology-enabled testing and assessment services. ETS is a Princeton, N.J.-based educational assessment and research organization.

Quality Home Brands price talk

Also coming out with guidance on Monday was Quality Home Brands as it held a conference call to launch $138.6 million in incremental term loan debt, according to a buyside source.

The $98.6 million first-lien term loan add-on (B1/B+) is being talked at Libor plus 250 bps and the $40 million second-lien term loan add-on (Caa1/CCC+) is being talked at Libor plus 625 bps, the source said.

The price talk on the first- and second-lien add-ons is in line with current first- and second-lien spreads, the source added.

BNP Paribas is the lead bank on the deal.

Proceeds will be used to finance the acquisition of Troy-CSL Lighting and Hudson Lighting.

Quality Home Brands is a Cary, N.C., designer, supplier, manufacturer and marketer of residential lighting fixtures.

Primedia tweaks terms

Primedia came out with some modifications to its credit facility, including raising pricing across the board, adding a discount and soft call protection to the term loan and modifying the accordion feature and total leverage covenant, according to a market source.

The $100 million six-year revolver is now priced at Libor plus 200 bps, up from original talk at launch of Libor plus 175 bps, the source said.

Meanwhile, the $250 million seven-year term loan is now priced at Libor plus 225 bps, up from original talk of Libor plus 200 bps, the source continued.

In addition, the term loan is now being offered to investors at an original issue discount of 98, as opposed to at par, and it now carries 101 soft call protection for one year, the source remarked.

Furthermore, the accordion feature was changed to $125 million for the first year and $175 million after that, from an original size of $200 million.

Lastly, the total leverage maintenance test was reduced to 5.25 times from 6.0 times, the source added.

Credit Suisse, Bank of New York, Lehman Brothers and Citigroup are the lead banks on the $350 million senior secured credit facility (Ba3/BB).

Proceeds from the facility, along with proceeds expected to be received upon the completion of the sale of the company's Enthusiast Media business, will be used to repay existing debt, fund a one-time dividend of about $96 million to shareholders and provide access to additional growth capital.

Primedia is a New York-based media company.

Stoneridge pulls deal

Stoneridge decided on Monday to cancel its in-market $200 million senior secured seven-year term loan (B1/B+) as a result of unfavorable market conditions, according to a market source.

The term loan was being talked at Libor plus 250 bps.

Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank were acting as the joint bookrunners and joint lead arrangers on the deal.

Proceeds were going to be used to redeem the company's outstanding $200 million 11½% senior notes due May 1, 2012. As a result of the elimination of the bank deal, the company terminated its bond tender offer.

Stoneridge is a Warren, Ohio, designer and manufacturer of highly engineered electrical and electronic components, modules and systems principally for the automotive, medium- and heavy-duty truck, agricultural and off-highway vehicle markets.

Bragg boosts pricing

Bragg Communications Inc. increased pricing on its term loan B tranche and added 101 soft call protection for one year, according to a market source.

The $675 million U.S. term loan B is now priced at Libor plus 250 bps, up from original talk at launch of Libor plus 225 bps, the source said.

TD Securities is the bookrunner on the deal, with CIBC and BMO involved as well.

Bragg's approximately C$1.5 billion credit facility also includes a C$75 million revolver and a C$700 million term loan A.

Proceeds will be used to help fund the acquisition of Persona Communications Corp., a St. John's, Newfoundland, cable operator, from HM Capital Partners, Birch Hill Equity Partners and CIBC Capital Partners.

Bragg Communications is a Halifax, N.S., media company.

LCDX trades up

Moving to the secondary, LCDX, and the overall market, were better on Monday as there seemed to be some more buyers stepping in to the market, according to a trader.

The index went out at 92 7/8 bid, 93 1/8 offered, up from Friday's closing levels of 91¾ bid, 92 offered, the trader said.

"Things are definitely feeling better across the board," the trader said about the secondary. "Hopefully we'll see a couple more days of that.

"We're seeing more buyers. There are some bargains out there. Maybe people are taking advantage of that," the trader added.

Swift Transportation heads higher

Swift Transportation's term loan B continued to strengthen on Monday after last Thursday's sell off, in reaction to this better market tone, according to a trader.

The term loan B went out at 89½ bid, 90½ offered, up from Friday's closing levels of 88 bid, 89 offered, the trader said. Last Thursday, the paper ended at 86 bid, 87 offered, and on Wednesday, the paper was being quoted at 91 bid, 92 offered.

No specific reason was given for last week's downfall, other than the overall market was plummeting, but levels started to bounce back up on Friday on the heels of the company announcing some financials that were better than people had expected.

The company said that as of June 30, its cash balance was $171 million, of which $148 million is currently unrestricted, and credit available on its revolving line of credit exceeded $250 million.

The company also said that its EBITDA for the second quarter exceeded revenue and EBITDA reported for the first quarter of 2007.

Second-quarter financial results will be released to bank lenders and noteholders after the market closes on Aug. 14.

Swift is a Phoenix-based truckload carrier.

Movie Gallery regains some ground

Also in trading, Movie Gallery's first-lien term loan finally reversed its direction, gaining a couple of points on the more favorable market technicals, according to a trader.

The Dothan, Ala.-based video rental company's first-lien term loan ended the day at 85 bid, 86 offered, up from 82 bid, 84 offered on Friday, the trader said.

The bank debt was pressured last week not only by the overall secondary weakness, but also by Blockbuster Inc.'s disappointing earnings results.

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