Mauser Packaging, Altice France break for trading; Zest accelerated; Bowlero discloses talk

By Sara Rosenberg

New York, Jan. 30 – Mauser Packaging Solutions Holding Co. increased the size of its term loan B, lowered the spread from initial guidance, added a step-down and tightened the original issue discount, and Altice France set final sizes on its extended U.S. and euro term loans, and then both of these deals freed up for trading on Monday.

Also, Zest Dental Solutions (Zest Acquisition Corp.) accelerated the commitment deadline for its first-lien term loan, Bowlero Corp. released price talk with launch, and Atlas Air Worldwide, NielsenIQ and Varsity Brands Inc. joined this week’s primary calendar.

Mauser reworked

Mauser Packaging on Monday morning lifted its term loan B (B2/B) due Aug. 15, 2026 to $800 million from $750 million, changed price talk to a range of SOFR plus 400 basis points to 425 bps from SOFR plus 450 bps, added a 25 bps step-down upon a B2 corporate family rating from Moody’s, modified original issue discount guidance to a range of 97.5 to 98 from 96 and set a 2 p.m. ET commitment deadline, according to a market source.

Shortly after the deadline passed, pricing on the term loan finalized at SOFR plus 400 bps, the low end of the revised talk, the discount was adjusted to 98.5, tighter than revised talk and initial talk, and the commitment deadline was set for 2:30 p.m. ET, the source said.

As before, the term loan has no floor and 101 soft call protection for six months.

Mauser frees

Late in the day, Mauser’s term loan broke for trading, with levels quoted at 98¾ bid, 99¼ offered, another source added.

BofA Securities Inc., BMO Capital Markets, Goldman Sachs Bank USA, JPMorgan Chase Bank, KKR Capital Markets and Morgan Stanley Senior Funding Inc. are leading the deal that will be used with $2.75 billion of senior secured notes and an equity investment to refinance a 2017 term loan and existing secured notes. Funds from the upsizing will be used for general corporate purposes.

Mauser is an Oak Brook, Ill.-based supplier of rigid packaging products and services.

Altice France finalized

Altice France firmed the size of its U.S. term loan B-14 (B2/B) due August 2028 at $4.26 billion and the size of its euro term loan B (B2/B) due August 2028 at €1.724 billion, market sources said.

Proceeds are being used to amend and extend a U.S. term loan B due July 2025, a U.S. term loan B due January 2026, a U.S. term loan B due August 2026, a euro term loan B due July 2025 and a euro term loan B due January 2026, and for general corporate purposes.

Pricing on the extended term loans is SOFR/Euribor plus 550 bps with a 0% floor, and the debt has 101 soft call protection for one year. The 2025 term loan B lenders that rolled into the new loan received an original issue discount of 97, and the 2026 lenders that rolled into the new loan and about €150 million of new money lenders received an original issue discount of 98.

JPMorgan Chase Bank is the U.S. active bookrunner, with Barclays, Credit Agricole, Natixis, Societe Generale, Morgan Stanley Senior Funding Inc., BofA Securities Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., ING and RBC Capital Markets acting as passive bookrunners. BNP Paribas Securities Corp. and Goldman Sachs are the euro active bookrunners, with Barclays, Credit Agricole, Natixis, Societe Generale, Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, ING and RBC acting as passive bookrunners. JPMorgan is the agent.

Altice France breaks

On Monday, Altice France’s U.S. term loan B-14 freed to trade, with levels quoted at 97¼ bid, 97¾ offered, another source added.

Post transaction, the U.S. term loan B due July 2025 will be sized at about $362 million, down from $1.42 billion, the U.S. term loan B due January 2026 will be sized at about $552 million, down from $2.15 billion, and the U.S. term loan B due August 2026 will be sized at about $594 million, down from $2.5 billion.

Prior to the amendment and extension, the euro term loan B due July 2025 was sized at €1.145 billion and the euro term loan B due January 2026 was sized at €1 billion.

Pricing on the 2025 U.S. term loan is SOFR plus 275 bps, pricing on the U.S. January 2026 term loan is SOFR plus 368.75 bps, pricing on the U.S. August 2026 term loan is SOFR plus 400 bps, and pricing on the euro term loans is Euribor plus 300 bps.

In addition to the extension of the term loans, the company is extending its revolving credit facilities to January 2028.

Altice is a cable, telecommunications and entertainment company.

Zest tweaks timing

Zest Dental moved up the commitment deadline for its $320 million five-year senior secured covenant-lite first-lien term loan (B3/B) to noon ET on Wednesday from noon ET on Thursday, a market source remarked.

Talk on the term loan is SOFR plus 575 bps to 600 bps with two 25 bps step downs at 0.5x and 1x inside closing first-lien net leverage, a 0% floor, an original issue discount of 95 and 101 soft call protection for six months.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc., SVB, UBS Investment Bank, RBC Capital Markets and Jefferies LLC are leading the deal that will be used with cash from the balance sheet to refinance the company’s existing $252 million first-lien term loan and $115 million second-lien term loan.

Closing is expected in early February.

Zest is a Carlsbad, Calif.-based developer, manufacturer and supplier of solutions to treat both natural teeth and implant supported restorations.

Bowlero holds call

Bowlero emerged in the morning with plans to hold a lender call at 2 p.m. ET on Monday to launch a $900 million term loan B (B1/B) due February 2028 talked at SOFR plus 375 bps to 400 bps with a 0% floor, an original issue discount of 98 and 101 soft call protection for six months, a market source said.

Commitments are due at 5 p.m. ET on Feb. 6, the source added.

JPMorgan Chase Bank and Wells Fargo Securities LLC are leading the deal that will be used to refinance a roughly $786 million term loan due July 2024 priced at Libor plus 350 bps with a 1% floor, repay revolver borrowings and add cash to the balance sheet.

Bowlero is a Mechanicsville, Va.-based operator of bowling centers.

Atlas Air on deck

Atlas Air set a lender call for 10 a.m. ET on Tuesday to launch an $800 million first-lien term loan B, according to a market source.

Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Barclays, Apollo Capital Management, Mizuho Bank and Credit Agricole are leading the deal that will be used with $800 million of other first-lien senior secured debt and equity to fund the buyout of the company by Apollo, J.F. Lehman & Co. and Hill City Capital for $102.50 per share in cash. The transaction has an enterprise valuation of about $5.2 billion.

Closing is expected this quarter, subject to customary conditions and receipt of regulatory approvals.

Atlas Air is a Purchase, N.Y.-based provider of outsourced aircraft and aviation operating services.

NielsenIQ readies deal

NielsenIQ will hold a lender call at 10 a.m. ET on Tuesday to launch a $1.475 billion incremental term loan B due March 2028 and a $500 million equivalent euro incremental term loan B due March 2028, a market source remarked.

Commitments for the U.S. term loan are due at 5 p.m. ET on Feb. 9 and commitments for the euro term loan are due at noon ET on Feb. 9, the source added.

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 (B2). BofA is the agent.

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

Advent International will be the majority shareholder in the combined company, while Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions and KKR will be significant shareholders in the combined company.

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

Varsity joins calendar

Varsity Brands scheduled a lender call for 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday to launch an amendment and extension of its roughly $1.331 billion first-lien term loan B to December 2026 from December 2024, according to a market source.

Holders of 85% of the term loan need to extend in order for the transaction to be completed, putting the minimum extended term loan size at about $1.131 billion. If any of the company’s privately placed floating-rate notes December 2024 are extended or refinanced into the extended term loan, that amount will count toward the minimum threshold.

Talk on the term loan is SOFR+10 bps CSA plus 500 bps with a 1% floor, an original issue discount of 96.5, and call protection of non-callable for two years, then at 103 in year three, with a 101 carve-out for initial public offering proceeds or a concurrent refinancing, the source said.

Commitments and consents are due at noon ET on Feb. 8, the source added.

Jefferies LLC is leading the deal.

Current pricing on the term loan B is Libor plus 350 bps with a 1% floor.

Varsity Brands is a provider of sports, cheerleading and achievement-related products to schools.

Fund flows

In other news, actively managed loan fund flows on Friday were negative $97 million and loan ETFs were positive $21 million, market sources said.

In 2023, outflows for loans funds total $826 million, sources added.

Loan indices rise

IHS Markit’s iBoxx loan indices were stronger on Friday, with the Leveraged Loan indexes (MiLLi) closing out the day up 0.10% and the Liquid Leveraged Loan indices (LLLi) closing out the day up 0.05%.

Month to date, the MiLLi is up 2.49% and the LLLi is up 2.58%.

Average secondary market bids in the U.S. on Friday were 92.57, up 0.02% from the previous day and up 0.74% year to date.

According to the IHS Markit data, some of the top advancers on Friday were LogMeIn’s August 2020 covenant-lite term loan B at 55.25, up from 46.67, City Brewing’s April 2021 covenant-lite term loan at 40.75, up from 38.79, and Cyxtera’s May 2017 covenant-lite term loan at 77.76, up from 75.33.

Some top decliners on Friday were Rackspace Hosting’s February 2021 covenant-lite term loan B at 62.50, down from 64.27, Isagenix’s June 2018 term loan at 34.90, down from 35.55, and United Seating/Numotion’s November 2018 term loan B at 85.67, down from 86.67.

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