EPCO, Patriot Media price talk emerges; Primary Energy nears completion; Petrohawk oversubscribed

By Sara Rosenberg

New York, July 14 - EPCO Inc. and Patriot Media & Communications CNJ LLC revealed price talk on their credit facilities as both deals launched via bank meetings Thursday.

Meanwhile, the books on Primary Energy Holdings LLC's credit facility are filling with the deal nearing fully subscribed levels and Petrohawk Energy Corp.'s second-lien term loan is oversubscribed even though it has only been in the market for about a week.

EPCO released opening price talk of Libor plus 250 basis points on its $1 billion five-year term loan B at Thursday morning's bank meeting and investors are being offered the paper at par, according to a market source.

Price talk of Libor plus 225 basis points on both the $300 million three-year revolver and the $600 million three-year term loan A was announced earlier this week.

The revolver and term loan A are being sold as a strip and commitments of $35 million get an upfront fee of 30 basis points, while commitments of $20 million get an upfront fee of 25 basis points.

As for the bank meeting itself, there was "very good attendance and early indications seem to be that there's good interest" in the loan, the source added.

Lehman Brothers and Citigroup are the lead banks on the $1.9 billion deal (Ba3/B+), with Lehman left lead on the term loan B and Citi left lead on the revolver and term loan A.

Proceeds will be used to refinance an existing bridge loan.

EPCO, a privately owned company controlled by Dan L. Duncan, owns the general partner of Houston-based midstream energy company Enterprise Products Partners LP and Houston-based pipeline company Texas Eastern Products Pipeline Co. LLC.

Patriot Media price talk

Price talk on Patriot Media's new loan surfaced on Thursday at the deal's launch, with both the $25 million seven-year revolver and $50 million seven-year term loan A talked at Libor plus 250 basis points, the $160 million 71/2-year term loan B talked at Libor plus 275 basis points and the $47 million eight-year second-lien term loan talked at Libor plus 550 basis points, according to a market source.

Both the first-and second-lien term loans are being offered to investors at par. Upfront fees on the pro rata are still to be determined.

Currently, there is no call protection planned for the second-lien term loan, the source added.

Bank of New York is the sole lead bank on the deal.

Proceeds from the $282 million credit facility will be used for a dividend recapitalization and to refinance existing debt.

Patriot Media is a Greenwich, Conn.-based cable operator.

Primary Energy nears subscription

Primary Energy's $150 million credit facility is "well on its way to being fully subscribed" as syndication is nearing a close with the commitment deadline set for early next week, according to a market source.

The facility, which launched about two weeks ago, consists of a $135 million term loan talked at Libor plus 300 to 325 basis points and a $15 million revolver talked ay Libor plus 300 to 325 basis points.

Royal Bank of Canada and CIBC are joint bookrunners on the deal, with Royal Bank of Canada left lead.

The deal is being obtained in connection with plans to take a portion of the company public in an Enhanced Income Securities Offering in Canada.

Primary Energy is an Oak Brook, Ill.-based developer, owner and operator of on-site combined heat and power and recycled energy projects.

Petrohawk oversubscribed

Petrohawk Energy's $150 million secured second-lien term loan is already oversubscribed about half way through the syndication process and about a week after launch, according to a market source.

Price talk on the tranche is in the Libor plus 450 to 500 basis points range.

The second-lien facility will be 50% drawn at closing, with the remaining 50% available at the Petrohawk's discretion within 45 days of closing.

Proceeds from the second-lien term loan will be used to help fund Petrohawk's acquisition of Mission Resources Corp.

Under the acquisition agreement, payment for Mission's common stock will comprise 60% Petrohawk common stock, or roughly 19.2 million shares, and 40% cash - for roughly $135 million in cash payable to Mission shareholders.

In addition, Petrohawk will assume approximately $170 million of Mission's long-term debt.

Petrohawk is also in market with a $400 million senior secured revolver, of which $280 million will be available at closing.

The new revolver replaces the company's existing revolver, but with increased availability due to the increased reserve base and improved commodity prices, the source said.

BNP Paribas is acting as lead arranger and bookrunner on the deal.

Petrohawk is a Houston-based oil and gas company.

Contech closes

Contech Construction Products Inc. completed its acquisition of Con/Span Bridge Systems Ltd. and Bridge Technologies LLC, according to a company news release.

To help fund the transaction, Contech got a $100 million term loan add-on (Ba3/BB-) with an interest rate of Libor plus 250 basis points via lead bank Wachovia.

The add-on is also being used to refinance existing revolver debt.

Contech is a Middletown, Ohio, manufacturer and marketer of corrugated steel and plastic pipe and fabricated products for use in highway, residential and commercial construction.

William Carter closes

The William Carter Co. closed on its new $625 million credit facility (B1/BB) consisting of a $500 million seven-year term loan B with an interest rate of Libor plus 175 basis points and a $125 million six-year revolver with an interest rate of Libor plus 175 basis points and a commitment fee of 50 basis points.

Pricing on both the term loan and the revolver came in at the low end of original price talk of Libor plus 175 to 200 basis points.

The term loan contains a step down, which was added during syndication, under which pricing can drop to Libor plus 150 basis points if leverage is below 2x and current ratings are maintained or if the deal get a ratings upgrade from Moody's Investors Services and leverage is below 21/2x.

Banc of America Securities LLC and Credit Suisse First Boston acted as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners on the deal, with Bank of America also acting as administrative agent and CSFB acting as syndication agent.

Proceeds from the credit facility were used to fund the acquisition of OshKosh B'Gosh Inc. and refinance existing Carter's debt. OshKosh had no debt outstanding.

Under the acquisition agreement, Carter's paid $26.00 per share in cash for each share of OshKosh common stock outstanding for total consideration of approximately $312 million.

Leverage is a little over 3x trailing 12 months EBITDA, interest coverage will be over 4x and debt to capitalization ratio will be around 55%.

Carter's is an Atlanta-based marketer of children's apparel for ages newborn to six years old. OshKosh is an Oshkosh, Wis.-based marketer of children's apparel and accessories.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.