High Yield Calendar: $8.350 billion deals being marketed

WEEK OF MARCH 12

BELDEN CDT INC.: $350 million senior subordinated notes due 2017 (Ba2/BB-); Wachovia Securities, (books), UBS Investment Bank (co); Rule 144A/Regulation S with registration rights; non-callable for five years; to finance acquisition; St. Louis-based signal transmission products company; roadshow started March 5; pricing expected March 13.

FREEPORT-MCMORAN COPPER & GOLD INC. $6 billion senior notes (B2/B+) in two tranches: due 2015, non-callable for four years, and due 2017, non-callable for five years; JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch & Co. (joint), co-managers to be announced; to help fund the acquisition; Phoenix-based mining company; roadshow started March 2; pricing expected on or about March 14.

HAWKER BEECHCRAFT CORP. $1.2 billion: Senior fixed-rate notes due 2015, non-callable for four years, senior PIK toggle notes due 2015, non-callable for four years, senior floating-rate notes due 2015, non-callable for two years (all eight-year notes B3/B-), and senior subordinated notes due 2017, non-callable for five years (Caa1/B-); Goldman Sachs & Co., Credit Suisse, Citigroup, Lehman Brothers (joint), UBS Investment Bank (co); Rule 144A/Regulation S with registration rights; to fund acquisition; Wichita, Kan., aircraft company; roadshow started March 7; pricing late March 12 week.

CENTENE CORP.: $175 million senior notes due 2014 (Ba3/BB); Banc of America Securities (left bookrunner), Wachovia Securities, Merrill Lynch & Co. (joint books), ABN Amro, Allen & Co., Goldman Sachs & Co. (co's); Rule 144A with registration rights; non-callable for four years; to refinance revolver and general corporate purposes; St. Louis-based provider of multi-line health care services; roadshow March 9-16; investor call 12:30 p.m. ET on March 12.

GENERAL CABLE CORP. $325 million senior notes (B1/B+): fixed-rate notes due 2017, non-callable for five years, and floating-rate notes due 2015, non-callable for two years (ratings to be determined); Goldman Sachs & Co. (books), Banc of America Securities LLC, Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch & Co., (co's); Rule 144A with registration rights; to fund tender and for general corporate purposes; Highland Heights, Ky., wire and fiber optic and cable products company; roadshow started March 9; pricing March 16.

WEEK OF MARCH 19

AVENTINE RENEWABLE ENERGY HOLDINGS INC.: $300 million senior notes due 2017; JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs & Co., UBS Investment Bank (joint books), Banc of America Securities LLC, Wachovia Securities, Friedman Billings Ramsey (co's); Rule 144A/Regulation S; non-callable for five years; to fund a portion of the company's capacity expansion plans; Pekin, Ill., producer, marketer and end-to-end distributor of ethanol; roadshow March 13-21; pricing expected March 21.

EXPECTED FIRST QUARTER BUSINESS

SUN HEALTHCARE GROUP INC.: $200 million due 2015 (decreased from $250 million following successful equity offering) senior subordinated notes; Credit Suisse, CIBC World Markets, UBS Investment Bank (joint), Jefferies & Co. (co); non-callable for four years; to fund acquisition; Irvine, Calif., provider of long-term and post-acute care; expected to launch March 14 or 15.

PEAK FINANCE LLC/PINNACLE FOODS GROUP INC. $650 million notes (Caa2): $400 million senior notes due 2015 and $250 million senior subordinated notes due 2017; Lehman Brothers expected to be involved; Rule 144A; to fund the LBO of Pinnacle by The Blackstone Group from J.P. Morgan Partners, LLC, J.W. Childs Associates, LP, CDM Group and former bondholders of Aurora Foods Inc. for $2.16 billion in cash; Cherry Hill, N.J.-based manufacturer, marketer and distributor of branded food products; expected March business.

MACDERMID INC. $465 million: $250 million senior unsecured notes due 2014 (B2/CCC+) and $215 million senior subordinated notes due 2017 (Caa1/CCC+); Credit Suisse (sole), Goldman Sachs & Co., CIBC World Markets (co's); also $560 million credit facility; to fund public-to-private transaction; Denver-based specialty chemical manufacturer; expected late February or early March.

ALTRA HOLDINGS INC.: Add-on to 9% senior secured notes due Dec. 1, 2011 (existing ratings B3/CCC+); Jefferies and Co.; callable on Dec. 1, 2008 at 104.50, and feature an equity clawback until Dec. 1, 2007 for 35% at 109.00; to fund acquisition; Altra is a Quincy, Mass.-based electromechanical power transmission products company; original $165 million priced at par in November 2004; expected to launch late first quarter or early second quarter of 2007.

TRIAD HOSPITALS INC.: $1 billion to $2 billion high-yield notes; JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup (joint bookrunners); also new bank loans; to fund acquisition of Triad by CCMP Capital Advisors and GS Capital Partners in a transaction valued at $6.4 billion including $1.7 billion of debt (as part of transaction Triad will tender for its $600 million 7% senior notes due 2012 and dollar-denominated 7% senior subordinated notes due 2013; Plano, Texas, owner and manager of hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers; heard to be possible late March business.

CELLU TISSUE HOLDINGS INC: Bonds; proceeds, along with cash on hand and a drawdown of existing credit facility, to fund merger with CityForest Corp., a Ladysmith, Wis.-based manufacturer of tissue paper; Cellu Tissue is an Alpharetta Ga., manufacturer and marketer of specialty tissue; debt financing expected to close before March 31, 2007.

RIVERDEEP INTERACTIVE LEARNING USA: $820 million senior subordinated notes; Credit Suisse, Citigroup (joint); proceeds along with $1.87 billion senior bank debt, $750 million mezzanine debt and $1.5 billion equity to fund the acquisition of Houghton Mifflin by Riverdeep from Thomas H. Lee Partners, Bain Capital Partners, LLC and Blackstone Group for $3.4 billion; Riverdeep, based in Dublin, Ireland, is a publisher of interactive products for the consumer and school markets.

ON THE HORIZON

GREAT ATLANTIC & PACIFIC TEA CO. INC.: $780 million senior secured high-yield bonds; Banc of America Securities LLC, Lehman Brothers, also $600 million ABL revolver; to help fund its purchase of Pathmark Stores Inc. for $1.3 billion in cash, stock and debt assumption or retirement, expected to be completed during the second half of A&P's fiscal 2007 year, structure of financing and timing pending market conditions; A&P is a Montvale, N.J.-based supermarket chain.

ADESA INC.: $1.1 billion high-yield bonds; also $1.79 billion credit facility; Bear Stearns, UBS, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank Securities lead banks on financing; bonds backed by $600 million senior unsecured bridge loan and $500 million senior subordinated unsecured bridge loan; to finance LBO by Kelso & Co., GS Capital Partners, ValueAct Capital and Parthenon Capital in a transaction valued at about $3.7 billion; Carmel, Ind., provider of wholesale vehicle auctions and used vehicle dealer floorplan financing.

ADVANCED MEDICAL OPTICS INC.: $200 million to $300 million high-yield bonds; also $500 million to $600 million credit facility via UBS, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs (UBS left lead); to fund acquisition of Irvine, Calif.-based laser vision correction products company IntraLase Corp. for about $808 million in cash, expected to be completed early in the second quarter; Santa Ana, Calif.-based Advanced Medical develops and manufactures medical devices for the eyes.

ARMOR HOLDINGS INC.: $400 million senior subordinated notes (B1/B+); company disclosed in a 10-Q filed Oct. 31 with the SEC that it is monitoring the interest rate environment seeking an opportunity to return with the transaction it withdrew on June 27, 2006 due to market conditions; Jacksonville, Fla., maker of security products.

BIOMET INC.: $2.565 billion in senior unsecured and/or senior subordinated unsecured high-yield notes, also $4.35 billion senior secured credit facility; financing to be led by Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and Wachovia; to finance LBO by Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and TPG in a transaction with a total equity value of about $10.9 billion, expected to be completed on or before Oct. 31, 2007; Biomet is a Warsaw, Ind., designer and manufacturer of musculoskeletal medical products.

CLEAR CHANNEL COMMUNICATIONS INC.: $4.1 billion high-yield bonds and $17.375 billion credit facility; Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, RBS Greenwich Capital and Wachovia are lead banks on the debt financing; to help back its leveraged buyout by Thomas H. Lee Partners, LP and Bain Capital Partners, LLC, expected to be completed by the end of 2007; $2.6 billion senior unsecured bridge loan and a $1.5 billion senior subordinated unsecured bridge loan backing bonds; San Antonio media and entertainment company.

CONSUMER SOURCE INC.: $150 million second-lien loan and/or notes; to fund dividend to Primedia Inc., which Primedia will use to extinguish all existing bank debt; Consumer Source is a New York-based publisher and distributor of free real estate and automobile guides.

EXPRESS SCRIPTS INC.: $13.4 billion of bank loans and bonds, but possibly just bank debt; financing commitment from Citigroup and Credit Suisse; to help fund buyout bid for Caremark Rx Inc.; Express Scripts is a Maryland Heights, Mo., provider of pharmacy benefit management services; transaction expected in third quarter of 2007.

FIAT NORTH AMERICA: Benchmark euro-denominated bonds with an expected 10-year maturity (Ba2/BB/BB); BNP Paribas, Calyon Securities, UBS (joint); via euro medium-term note program; guaranteed by Fiat SpA; includes change-of-control put; for general corporate purposes, including debt refinancing; a unit of Turin, Italy-based automobile manufacturer Fiat SpA.

HUNGARIAN TELEPHONE AND CABLE CORP. (HTTC): €200 million floating-rate notes; Merrill Lynch & Co., BNP Paribas, Calyon Securities; in connection with HTTC's acquisition of Invitel; HTTC, 62% owned by Danish telecom, TDC, with remaining shares traded on Nasdaq, has headquarters in Budapest and Seattle; expected in second quarter of 2007.

KINDER MORGAN INC.: $14.5 billion of funded debt including senior and/or subordinated notes; to help fund proposed $22 billion buyout of the company by management and equity investors led by Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Wachovia, Merrill Lynch, expected to be completed by early 2007; Houston-based energy infrastructure provider.

MSX INTERNATIONAL INC.: $200 million senior secured notes due 2012 (B2); to repay debt; Rule 144A/Regulation S; Warren, Mich., outsourcer of business services, engineering and human capital services to the automotive industry.

OSI RESTAURANT PARTNERS INC.: $800 million high-yield notes; Banc of America Securities LLC, Deutsche Bank; also $1.35 billion credit facility; to fund the LBO by an investor group comprised of Bain Capital Partners, LLC, Catterton Partners and company founders Chris T. Sullivan, Robert D. Basham and J. Timothy Gannon, expected to close prior to the end of April 2007; Tampa, Fla., casual dining restaurants company.

REALOGY CORP.: $3.65 billion bonds expected to be comprised of $2 billion senior unsecured notes, $750 million senior unsecured PIK toggle notes and $900 million senior subordinated notes; JP Morgan, Credit Suisse, Bear Stearns, Citigroup (joint); also $4.27 billion credit facility; also $1.99 billion equity commitment; to fund the approximately $9 billion LBO by Apollo Management expected to close in the spring of 2007; Parsippany, N.J., real estate franchisor.

TELESAT: $900 million senior notes and $2.2 billion credit facility; Morgan Stanley, UBS Investment Bank to lead financing; to help fund acquisition of Telesat by a joint venture company formed by Loral Space & Communications Inc. and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, expected to close by mid-2007; new company will be one of the world's largest operators of telecommunications satellites, with a combined fleet of eleven satellites and four additional satellites to be launched over the next three years.

UNITED SURGICAL PARTNERS INTERNATIONAL INC.: $480 million senior subordinated notes; Citigroup, Lehman, SunTrust, UBS, Bear Stearns; also $665 million credit facility; to fund LBO by Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe for about $1.8 billion, expected to close in second quarter; also $852 million equity contribution; Addison, Texas, owner and operator of short-stay surgical facilities.

USI HOLDINGS CORP. $450 million notes in two tranches: senior unsecured notes and senior subordinated notes; also $625 million credit facility via Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan; also $453 million equity; to fund LBO by GS Capital Partners for $17.00 in cash per share, transaction valued at approximately $1.4 billion, including repayment of approximately $365 million of USI debt, expected to close 2007 second quarter; Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., distributor of insurance and financial products and services to businesses.

UNSECURED TERM LOANS

LEVI STRAUSS & CO: $325 million senior unsecured term loan due 2014 (B2/B); Banc of America Securities LLC (lead), Goldman Sachs & Co. (joint); non-callable for one year, at par thereafter; proceeds, along with cash on hand, to call existing floating-rate notes due 2012; San Francisco apparel company; price guidance Libor plus 225 bps at a discount; price guidance Libor plus 225 bps at 99.00 to 99.50; commitments due 1 p.m. ET Friday.

ROADSHOWS

Started March 2: FREEPORT-MCMORAN COPPER & GOLD INC. $6 billion; JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch & Co.

Started March 5: BELDEN CDT INC. $350 million; Wachovia Securities

Started March 7: HAWKER BEECHCRAFT CORP. $1.2 billion (B-); Goldman Sachs & Co., Credit Suisse, Citigroup, Lehman Brothers

Started March 9: GENERAL CABLE CORP. $325 million; Goldman Sachs & Co.

March 9-16: CENTENE CORP. $175 million; Banc of America Securities LLC

March 13-21: AVENTINE RENEWABLE ENERGY HOLDINGS INC. $300 million; JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs & Co., UBS Investment Bank

© 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.