Burger King frees to trade; Affiliated Computer nets early orders; Cavalier, Century Theatres overfill

By Sara Rosenberg

New York, Feb. 15 - Burger King Corp.'s upsized and repriced term loan allocated and freed for trading during Wednesday's market hours with the paper quoted in the mid-par to 101 type of context.

In primary happenings, Affiliated Computer Services Inc. has already attracted early commitments from close to 10 banks, and the general syndication process is looking good as lots of investors participated in the company's Wednesday morning bank meeting.

Also on the primary front, Cavalier Telephone LLC and Century Theatres Inc. are both going well as the deals are oversubscribed at this point.

Burger King's $1.1 billion term loan (Ba2) broke for trading on Wednesday at par ½ bid, 101 offered and remained quoted in that region throughout the session as not a lot of activity was seen in the name, according to a trader.

The term loan is currently priced with an interest rate of Libor plus 150 basis points that is locked in for six months. After the six months are up, pricing on the term loan can step up to Libor plus 175 basis points, based on leverage.

Originally, the Miami-based fast food hamburger chain had come to market with a $350 million add-on to its term loan that was talked in-line with existing term pricing at Libor plus 175 basis points. But after the add-on saw strong enough demand to warrant a reverse flex to Libor plus 150 basis points, the company decided to reprice its existing $750 million of term loan debt to match it up with the new term debt pricing.

The incremental term loan debt is being used to fund a dividend payment.

JPMorgan and Citigroup are the lead banks on the deal, with JPMorgan the left lead.

Affiliated Computer attracts orders

Switching over to the primary, Affiliated Computer Services' $5 billion senior secured credit facility (Ba2) is expected to move along quite smoothly in terms of the syndication process as a number of banks have already committed to the deal and the general syndication bank meeting saw strong attendance, according to a market source.

More specifically, on the early commitment side, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs, Wachovia, BOTM, SunTrust and Morgan Stanley have all signed on to the deal at an agent level, the source said.

The commitment deadline is scheduled for Feb. 28.

Structure on the $5 billion facility is a $4 billion seven-year term loan and a $1 billion six-year revolver, with both tranches talked at Libor plus 200 basis points. The term loan is being offered at par.

Citigroup is the lead bank on the deal that will be used to refinance the company's existing credit facility and to fund an approximately $3.5 billion modified Dutch auction stock tender offer.

The Dutch auction tender has already begun, with the company offering to buy up to 55.5 million shares of its class A common stock at a minimum price per share of $56 and a maximum price of $63.

The tender offer, which is scheduled to expire on March 10, is subject to a number of terms and conditions, including the receipt of financing as well as any applicable regulatory or other consents.

Affiliated Computer Services is a Dallas-based provider of business process and information technology outsourcing solutions to commercial and government clients.

Cavalier oversubscribed

In follow-up primary news, Cavalier Telephone's institutional bank debt tranche is said to be going well as market talk has the loan somewhere in the range of two to three times oversubscribed, according to a market source.

The $185 million term loan is talked at Libor plus 500 basis points.

Cavalier's $200 million credit facility (B2) also contains a $15 million revolver that is talked at Libor plus 500 basis points as well.

Wachovia and Jefferies Babson are the lead banks on the deal that will be used to refinance existing debt and to fund a dividend payment.

Cavalier Telephone is a Richmond, Va.-based provider of telecommunications services.

Century Theatres fills up

Century Theatres' institutional tranche is also being described by the market as moving well with investor orders putting the loan at oversubscribed levels, according to a market source.

The $360 million term loan is talked at Libor plus 200 basis points.

The $435 million credit facility (Ba3/B+) also contains a $75 million revolver that is talked at Libor plus 200 basis points as well.

Morgan Stanley and Bank of America are joint lead arrangers on the deal, with Morgan Stanley acting as bookrunner.

Proceeds from the credit facility will be used to refinance existing debt and fund a sizable dividend payment to the owners.

Century Theatres is a San Rafael, Calif., regional theatrical exhibition company.

Cablevision returning?

Rumor has it that Cablevision Systems Corp.'s subsidiary, CSC Holdings Inc., may be coming back to market with its multi-billion refinancing/dividend credit facility via Bank of America and Merrill Lynch, according to a market source.

Talk is that the resuscitated deal would refinance $2 billion-plus in debt, add $1.4 billion in new debt and include a $3.5 billion greenshoe, the source said.

Confirmation of all details, such as lead banks, potential sizes and whether the deal is in fact going to be relaunched, was unattainable prior to press time.

Last year, Cablevision had come to market with a $4.5 billion credit facility (Ba3/BB+/BB) led by Bank of America and Citigroup that was going to be used to pay a special dividend to shareholders and refinance existing debt.

This facility consisted of a $2.5 billion term loan B with an interest rate of Libor plus 200 basis points, a $1 billion revolver with an interest rate of Libor plus 150 basis points and a $1 billion term loan A with an interest rate of Libor plus 150 basis points.

However, around mid-December 2005, the company decided to pull the credit facility from the market and terminate its dividend plan because some technical violations under CSC's existing credit facility were found.

Since then, CSC and Rainbow National Services LLC - another Cablevision subsidiary - have received waivers and amended their credit facilities to correct the technical covenant compliance issues.

News of the successful completion of the waivers and amendments came out around the end of January.

Cablevision is a Bethpage, N.Y.-based cable company.

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