Shearer’s Foods, Lightpath revised; Delta, Consolidated Communications, ASP, GCI set talk

By Sara Rosenberg

New York, Sept. 14 – Shearer’s Foods LLC on Monday increased the size of its first-lien term loan, reduced the spread, lowered the Libor floor and tightened the original issue discount and decreased the size of its privately placed second-lien term loan.

Also, Cablevision Lightpath modified price guidance on its first-lien term loan B and accelerated the commitment deadline.

In addition, Delta Air Lines SkyMiles, Consolidated Communications Inc., ASP Navigate Acquisition Corp. and GCI LLC announced price talk with launch.

Furthermore, Vistra, Fortress Investment Group FinCo I LLC, Clarivate plc, Vander-Bend Manufacturing Inc., Agiliti, Global Medical Response, TI Group Automotive Systems LLC and Avaya Inc. joined this week’s primary calendar.

Shearer’s reworked

Shearer’s Foods lifted its seven-year covenant-lite first-lien term loan to $1.075 billion from $985 million, trimmed pricing to Libor plus 400 basis points from Libor plus 425 bps, added a ratings-based step-down, cut the Libor floor to 0.75% from 1% and adjusted the original issue discount to 99.25 from 98.5, according to a market source.

Additionally, the company scaled back its privately placed second-lien term loan to $250 million from $340 million, the source said.

As before, the first-lien term loan has 101 soft call protection for six months.

Commitments were due at 5 p.m. ET on Monday, the source added.

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Antares Capital, BMO Capital Markets and Golub are leading the deal that will be used to refinance existing debt and fund a dividend.

Shearer’s Foods is a Massillon, Ohio-based contract manufacturer of snack foods.

Lightpath tweaked

Cablevision Lightpath changed price talk on its $600 million seven-year first-lien term loan B (B1/B+) to a range of Libor plus 325 bps to 350 bps from a range of Libor plus 350 bps to 375 bps, and moved up the commitment deadline to 11 a.m. ET on Tuesday from end of day on Wednesday, a market source remarked.

The term loan is still talked with a 0.5% Libor floor, an original issue discount of 99, 101 soft call protection for six months and a ticking fee of half the margin from days 46 to 90 and the full margin thereafter.

Goldman Sachs Bank USA, RBC Capital Markets, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Morgan Stanley Senior Funding Inc. are leading the deal that will be used to help fund the acquisition of a 49.99% interest in the company by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners from Altice USA for an implied enterprise value of $3.2 billion.

Closing is expected in the fourth quarter, subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Cablevision Lightpath is an enterprise-grade fiber connectivity, bandwidth and managed services provider in the New York metropolitan area.

Delta SkyMiles launches

Delta Air Lines SkyMiles held a lender call at 1 p.m. ET on Monday, launching a $2.5 billion seven-year senior secured term loan (Baa1//BBB) talked at Libor plus 425 bps to 450 bps with a 1% Libor floor and an original issue discount of 98.5, according to a market source.

The term loan is non-callable for three years, then at 104 in year four and 102 in year five, the source said.

Commitments are due at noon ET on Thursday.

Barclays and Goldman Sachs Bank USA are leading the deal that will be used with $4 billion of senior secured notes for general corporate purposes and to support the company’s liquidity position.

Delta is an Atlanta-based airline company. SkyMiles is a newly-formed bankruptcy-remote Cayman special purpose vehicle to hold all SkyMiles program collateral.

Consolidated talk

Consolidated Communications hosted a lender call at 1:30 p.m. ET to launch $1.25 billion of senior secured credit facilities (B2), split between a $250 million five-year revolver and a $1 billion seven-year term loan B, sources said.

Talk on the term loan is Libor plus 475 bps with a 1% Libor floor, an original issue discount of 97 to 98 and 101 soft call protection for six months, sources added.

Commitments are due at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Morgan Stanley Senior Funding Inc., Goldman Sachs Bank USA, TD Securities (USA) LLC, Wells Fargo Securities LLC and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. are leading the deal that will be used with $1 billion of senior secured notes to refinance existing debt.

The refinancing is being done in connection with a $425 million investment in the company by Searchlight Capital Partners LP.

Consolidated Communications is a Mattoon, Ill.-based broadband and business communications provider.

ASP Navigate guidance

ASP Navigate held its bank meeting in the afternoon and announced price talk on its $400 million seven-year first-lien term loan at Libor plus 475 bps to 500 bps with a 1% Libor floor and an original issue discount of 98.5, according to a market source.

The term loan has 101 soft call protection for six months.

The company’s $460 million of credit facilities also include a $60 million five-year revolver.

Commitments are due on Sept. 24, the source added.

Jefferies LLC, Keybank Capital Markets Inc., Goldman Sachs Bank USA and ING are leading the deal that will be used with equity to fund American Securities LLC’s acquisition of NN Inc.’s Life Sciences division for $825 million, including $755 million in cash payable at closing of the transaction and an additional $70 million earnout payable in cash based on the 2022 performance of the division.

Closing is expected in the fourth quarter, subject to customary conditions.

The Life Sciences division designs and manufactures a variety of high-precision components, assemblies, and instruments for the medical and life sciences end market.

GCI holds call

GCI came out with talk on its $350 million five-year term loan B (Ba2) at Libor plus 275 bps with a 0.75% Libor floor, and an original issue discount of 99.5 on new money and 99.75 on existing, with its afternoon lender call, a market source remarked.

The term loan has 101 soft call protection for six months.

Commitments are due on Sept. 23, the source added.

Truist Securities, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Credit Agricole, BofA Securities Inc., Cobank, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., MUFG and TD Securities (USA) LLC are leading the deal that will be used to refinance existing debt.

GCI is an Anchorage-based telecommunications company.

Vistra readies deal

In more primary happenings, Vistra set a lender call for 10:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday to launch a $28 million equivalent U.S. and/or euro incremental first-lien term loan, and an amendment and extension of its existing first-lien term loans and revolver, according to a market source.

The company is looking to extend its existing $562 million first-lien term loan B and €411 million first-lien term loan B by three years to October 2025.

The 1% Libor floor on the U.S. term loan and the 0% floor on the euro term loan are expected to be unchanged for the extended term loans, the source said.

The extended and incremental term loan debt is talked with 101 soft call protection for six months.

Amortization on the U.S. term loan is expected to remain at 1% per annum, while amortization on the euro term loan is proposed to change to a bullet from 1% per annum.

Vistra lead banks

Goldman Sachs Bank USA, HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Morgan Stanley Senior Funding Inc. and BNP Paribas Securities Corp. are leading Vistra’s loan transaction.

The incremental term loan will be used with a $40 million revolver draw to refinance the company’s outstanding second-lien term loans in full.

Vistra is an integrated global player in the corporate and trust services industry.

Fortress on deck

Fortress Investment Group emerged with plans to hold a lender call at 11 a.m. ET on Tuesday to launch a $950 million covenant-lite term loan B due June 27, 2025, a market source said.

The term loan is talked with 101 soft call protection for six months, the source added.

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Mizuho are leading the deal that will be used to reprice and extend from December 2022 an existing term loan B.

Commitments from new and existing lenders are due at 4 p.m. ET on Friday.

In connection with this transaction, roughly $100 million of the existing $1.046 billion term loan B will be paid down.

Fortress Investment is an alternative investment management firm.

Clarivate coming soon

Clarivate will hold a lender call at 10:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday to launch a new loan to prospective lenders, according to a market source.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. is the left lead bank on the deal.

The company announced in July that it received a commitment for a $1.5 billion incremental term loan from Citigroup and BofA Securities Inc. to refinance CPA Global’s debt in connection with its combination with CPA Global.

Under the merger agreement, CPA Global shareholders will receive about 218 million Clarivate ordinary shares, representing 35% pro forma fully diluted ownership of Clarivate.

Closing is expected in the fourth quarter, subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals.

Clarivate is a Philadelphia-based provider of comprehensive intellectual property and scientific information, decision support tools and services. CPA Global is a provider of intellectual property software and tech-enabled services.

Vander-Bend joins calendar

Vander-Bend Manufacturing scheduled a lender call for 2 p.m. ET on Thursday to launch a $197.5 million of credit facilities, a market source remarked.

The facilities consist of a $20 million revolver and a $177.5 million first-lien term loan B, the source added.

Goldman Sachs Bank USA is leading the deal that will be used to refinance existing debt at Vander-Bend and fund the acquisition of Swiss Precision Machining.

Aterian Investment Partners is the sponsor.

Vander-Bend is a San Jose, Calif.-based provider of prototyping, precision manufacturing and assembly solutions to medical technology OEMs and other high growth, recession-resistant sectors.

Agiliti plans call

Agiliti set a lender call for Tuesday to launch a $125 million add-on term loan that is talked at Libor plus 300 bps with a 0.75% Libor floor and an original issue discount of 98 to 98.5, according to a market source.

Commitments are due at 5 p.m. ET on Sept. 22, the source added.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is leading the deal, which will be used to repay some second-lien term loan borrowings.

Agiliti is a Minneapolis-based provider of health care technology management and service solutions.

Global Medical on deck

Global Medical Response will hold a lender call at 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday to launch a $1.37 billion five-year first-lien term loan, a market source said.

KKR Capital Markets LLC and Morgan Stanley Senior Funding Inc. are leading the deal that will be used with $500 million of bonds to refinance an existing $1.87 billion term loan B due 2022.

Global Medical, previously known as Air Medical, is a Greenwood Village, Colo.-based provider of medical care, primarily in the areas of emergency and patient relocation services.

TI readies loans

TI Group Automotive Systems scheduled a lender call for Tuesday to launch an $834 million term loan (B1) talked at Libor plus 375 bps with a 0.75% Libor floor and an original issue discount of 98.5 to 99, and a €422 million term loan (B1) talked at Euribor plus 375 bps with a 0.75% floor and a discount of 98 to 98.5, according to a market source.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Barclays, BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Mizuho and RBC Capital Markets are leading the deal that will be used to refinance existing debt.

TI Group is an Oxford, England-based provider of fluid storage, carrying and delivery systems to automotive manufacturers.

Avaya extending

Avaya plans to hold a lender call on Tuesday to launch an extension of $800 million of its existing term loan by three years to 2027, a market source remarked.

Lenders are being offered a 200 bps extension fee and 101 soft call protection for six months, the source added.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, BofA Securities Inc., Barclays, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Goldman Sachs Bank USA are leading the deal.

Avaya is a Santa Clara, Calif.-based business communications company.

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