Carmike gets agent commitment; Mapco breaks in upper pars; Calpine stronger on early earnings news

By Sara Rosenberg

New York, April 29 - Carmike Cinemas Inc.'s proposed $455 million credit facility has already netted some interest as one institution already put in a rather sizeable order, signing on as an agent bank.

Meanwhile, in the secondary, Mapco Express Inc. allocated and freed up for trading with the term loan B quoted comfortably over par. And, Calpine Corp. headed higher as the company rebutted bankruptcy rumors by putting out an outline of first quarter earnings ahead of next week's call.

Carmike Cinemas' credit facility, which launched via a bank meeting on Friday, got a $50 million commitment in the book already from Wells Fargo Foothill, which decided to take the title of documentation agent, according to a market source.

And, the bank meeting itself went very well with "over 70 banks, institutions that came," the source said.

"A lot of people know the business. A lot of people like it," the source added.

The deal consists of a $100 million five-year revolver talked at Libor plus 225 basis points, a $170 million seven-year term loan talked at Libor plus 250 basis points and a $185 million delayed-draw term loan talked at Libor plus 250 basis points.

Both term loans are being offered to investors at par. Revolver commitments of $15 million or more get an upfront fee of 100 basis points, and revolver commitments of less than $15 million get an upfront fee of 75 basis points.

On Friday, Moody's Investors Service announced that it assigned a B1 rating to the credit facility and changed the outlook to positive from stable.

The bank loan rating benefits from a fairly meaningful layer of junior capital beneath it, consisting of $150 million of senior subordinated notes, public equity and capitalized operating leases valued at about $400 million. The bank debt also benefits from its perfected first priority security interest in all company assets, Moody's said.

The change in outlook reflects the use of equity and free cash flow to reduce long-term debt along with expected improvement in credit metrics arising from continued progress in operating performance, Moody's added.

Bear Stearns is the lead bank on the deal.

Proceeds from the revolver and term loan will be used to refinance existing bank debt and help fund the previously announced acquisition of George Kerasotes Corp. for $66 million.

Proceeds from the delayed-draw term loan are only available for future acquisitions. The delayed draw is for two years, with a final maturity of seven years.

Pro forma for the George Kerasotes purchase, senior leverage will be 2.1x, total leverage will be 31/2x and EBITDA to interest coverage will be around 4.4x.

Columbus, Ga.-based Carmike is the second-largest theater operator in the United States in terms of number of theaters, with operations in 36 states.

Mapco breaks

Mapco's $165 million six-year term loan opened for trading on Friday, with the tranche quoted at par ½ bid, no offers in a quiet session, according to a trader.

The tranche is priced with an interest rate of Libor plus 275 basis points with a step down to Libor plus 250 basis points if leverage is less than or equal to 31/2x. This step-down provision was added during syndication since the book was more than two times oversubscribed.

The $205 million credit facility (B2/B+) also contains a $40 million five-year revolver with an interest rate of Libor plus 225 basis points.

Lehman is the sole lead bank on the deal, which closed on Friday as well. Bank Leumi and SunTrust joined on as agents.

Proceeds are being used to refinance existing debt and to fund a small dividend to the parent company.

Mapco is a Franklin, Tenn., convenience store and wholesale petroleum distribution company.

Calpine up

Calpine Corp.'s second-lien bank debt moved up a couple of points during Friday's session as the company pre-announced good first quarter financial numbers and showed that there is ample liquidity on the balance sheet in order to retaliate against recent bankruptcy rumors.

The San Jose, Calif.-based power company's second-lien paper was quoted at 73 bid, 74 offered, according to a trader, compared to Thursday's closing levels of 71½ bid, 73 offered and trading levels that reached a low of around 69 or 691/2.

Calpine ended the first quarter with cash and cash equivalents on hand of about $800 million, and restricted cash totaled about $500 million.

EBITDA, as adjusted for non-cash and other charges, is expected to be about $240 million for the quarter. And, for the year ended Dec. 31, Calpine still expects EBITDA, as adjusted for non-cash and other charges, to be in the range of $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion.

The company expects a fully diluted loss per share of about $0.38 for the first quarter. For the year ending Dec. 31, Calpine still expects a loss per share in the range of $0.80 to $0.90 based on indications that market spark spreads are remaining in line with the company's earlier expectations.

Additional details on first quarter results will be provided in a May 5 conference call.

"Calpine is providing this update to assure investors that first quarter financial results were in line with our expectations and that we remain on track to achieve our 2005 earnings," said Bob Kelly, chief financial officer, in the company news release.

"While preliminary, we believe this update is necessary given the recent equity and bond trading volatility triggered by false rumors in the market. It is regrettable that reckless and unfounded rumors continue to impact the trading in Calpine's securities," Kelly added in the release.

WCA Waste closes

WCA Waste Corp. closed on its new $200 million credit facility consisting of a $75 million five-year revolver (B3/B) with an interest rate of Libor plus 300 basis points, a $100 million six-year term loan B (B3/B) with an interest rate of Libor plus 300 basis points and a $25 million 61/2-year second-lien term loan (Caa1/CCC+) with an interest rate of Libor plus 600 basis points.

Wells Fargo Bank acted as lead arranger on the deal. Nineteen financial institutions participated in the deal.

Proceeds are being used to refinance the company's existing $160 million facility, to fund its acquisition program and for other general corporate purposes.

"We are excited by the opportunities presented by this new credit facility. We welcome all of the new institutions into our lending group," said Chuck Casalinova, senior vice president and chief financial officer, in a company news release.

WCA Waste is a Houston-based non-hazardous solid waste transportation, processing and disposal company.

Rayovac closes

Rayovac Corp. completed its acquisition of Tetra Holding GmbH, a supplier of fish and aquatics supplies with headquarters in Melle, Germany, according to a company news release.

To finance this acquisition, Rayovac added some debt to its term loan B (B1/B+), consisting of a $115 million U.S. term loan B with an interest rate of Libor plus 200 basis points, a $20 million dollar equivalent Canadian term loan B tranche with an interest rate of Libor plus 200 basis points and a €281 million term loan B tranche with an interest rate of Libor plus 225 basis points.

Bank of America and Citigroup were the lead banks on the deal, with Bank of America the left lead.

Rayovac is an Atlanta-based consumer products company and a leading supplier of batteries, lawn and garden care products, specialty pet supplies and shaving and grooming products.

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