Triton PCS breaks for trading in the 101s; General Growth reduces term B pricing

By Sara Rosenberg

New York, Nov. 12 - Triton PCS Inc.'s term loan allocated and broke for trading on Friday, with the paper opening in the low 101 area. On the primary side, General Growth Properties Inc. cut pricing on its oversubscribed term loan B by 25 basis points.

Triton's $250 million senior secured term loan (B2/B) initially opened at 101 bid, 101½ offered, according to a market source, and then moved up slightly to 101¼ bid, 101¾ offered, a trader added.

The tranche is priced with an interest rate of Libor plus 325 basis points. Originally, it was talked at Libor plus 350 to 375 basis points but was reverse flexed on Wednesday.

Lehman is the sole lead bank on the deal, with Merrill Lynch as an agent.

Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, possible acquisitions and to retire, from time to time, some outstanding debt securities through open market purchases and privately negotiated transactions. The term loan will be replacing Triton's $100 million senior secured revolver.

Triton is a Berwyn, Pa., wireless phone service provider.

GGP reverse flexes B loan

General Growth Properties Inc. lowered pricing on its $2 billion four-year term loan B to Libor plus 225 basis points from Libor plus 250 basis points on Friday afternoon, according to market sources.

Furthermore, the company closed on the $6.15 billion ($9.75 billion with bridge loan) credit facility (Ba2/BB+) on Friday as well; however, allocations on the deal are not expected to go out until early next week at which time the loan will free up for trading, one source said.

In addition to the term loan B, the facility also contains a $500 million three-year revolver with an interest rate of Libor plus 225 basis points and a $3.65 billion three-year term loan A with an interest rate of Libor plus 225 basis points. The revolver was recently upsized from $250 million, offset by the downsizing of the term loan A from $3.9 billion.

Upfront fees for the pro rata strip were 50 basis points for a $100 million commitment and 25 basis points for anything less than $100 million.

Both the institutional and the pro rata portions of this deal have been oversubscribed for a little while now as investors may have been drawn to the company's strong underlying asset value and management team that over time wants to take the company to investment-grade status, a source previously explained. Furthermore, the fact that the deal is so large and will likely be very liquid in the secondary, and the relatively strong ratings, helped to entice investors as well.

The $3.6 billion six-month bridge loan, which is priced at Libor plus 200 basis points, was not syndicated since it will be taken out by CMBS transactions.

Lehman Brothers and Credit Suisse First Boston are joint lead arrangers on the deal, with Lehman left lead. Lehman, CSFB, Wachovia and Bank of America are joint bookrunners.

Proceeds, along with $500 million of new equity, will be used to help fund the acquisition of The Rouse Co. for $7.2 billion, including the assumption of about $5.4 billion of Rouse debt, and to redo $2 billion of General Growth's unsecured credit.

Post closing, General Growth, a Chicago-based shopping mall owner, will have about $23 billion of debt, or about 71% of total pro forma capitalization of $32.5 billion based upon the current stock price. Estimated interest coverage is about 1.6x for the first full year after closing, assuming the transaction closes in the fourth quarter.

Ashtead closes

Ashtead Group plc closed on its $675 million senior credit facility (B1/BB-) consisting of a $400 million revolver with an initial interest rate of Libor plus 275 basis points and a $275 million term loan with an initial interest rate of Libor plus 250 basis points, according to a company news release. Pricing will be adjusted based on the ratio of funded debt to EBITDA according to a grid that ranges from Libor plus 225 to 300 basis points.

The term loan originally went out to lenders with pricing of Libor plus 275 basis points but was reverse flexed during syndication on strong investor demand.

Amortization on the term loan is 1% per annum. The tenor is for five years subject to the company's £134 million convertible subordinated loan note being refinanced prior to November 2007.

Banc of America Securities LLC and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. are joint lead arrangers on the deal that was fully underwritten by Bank of America, Deutsche Bank Trust Co. and General Electric Capital Corp.

At closing, $490 million was drawn under the new facility to repay existing senior debt and the accounts receivable securitization. The balance of the facility is available to fund future capital investment and working capital requirements.

The average initial interest rate on the new deal is Libor plus 260 basis points compared with an average of Libor plus 390 basis points under the replaced facilities.

"Having closed our new asset-based facility, we will now benefit from lower borrowing costs and greater liquidity enabling us to invest further in our business at a time when U.S. non-residential construction is exhibiting renewed growth," said Ian Robson, finance director, in the release.

Ashtead Group is a U.K.-based equipment rental group serving the construction, industrial and homeowner markets.

Nash Finch closes

Nash Finch Co. closed on its $300 million senior secured credit facility (B1/B+/BB-).

The deal, via lead arranger Deutsche Bank, consisted of a $200 million term loan B at Libor plus 225 basis points and a $100 million revolver at Libor plus 175 basis points.

The Minneapolis food distributor used proceeds to refinance its senior secured credit facility due 2005 and to redeem its $165 million of 8½% senior subordinated notes due 2008.

Nash Finch said it expects the refinancing will "significantly" reduce future interest expense and provide additional flexibility for its operations and to repay debt.

Valor closes

Valor Telecommunications, LLC said it closed on a new $1.6 billion credit facility on Wednesday.

The facility was made up of a $1.17 billion term loan B (B+) at Libor plus 350 basis points, a $205 million second-lien tranche (B-) and a $100 million revolver (B+).

Bank of America was lead arranger for the Irving, Texas-based telecommunications provider.

Proceeds were used to refinance all the company's debt.

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