Baldor breaks; Freescale bounces on repricing; IFM sets talk; Great Canadian cuts spread

By Sara Rosenberg

New York, Feb. 7 - Baldor Electric Co.'s credit facility freed for trading with the term loan quoted atop 101, and Freescale Semiconductor Inc.'s term loan B seesawed around after news of a repricing hit the market.

In the primary market, IFM (Industry Funds Management) released price talk on its new term loan B as the deal was launched with a bank meeting, and Great Canadian Gaming Corp. lowered pricing on its term loan B due to strong market demand.

Baldor Electric's credit facility hit the secondary market on Wednesday, with the $1 billion seven-year term loan quoted at 101 bid, 101¼ offered by the end of the session, according to a trader.

The term loan is priced at Libor plus 175 basis points. During syndication, pricing on the oversubscribed tranche was reverse flexed from original talk at launch of Libor plus 225 bps.

Baldor's $1.2 billion credit facility (Ba3/BB) also includes a $200 million five-year revolver priced at Libor plus 225 bps.

BNP Paribas and SunTrust acted as the lead banks on the deal.

Proceeds were used to fund the recently completed acquisition of Reliance Electric Co. and certain of its affiliated companies from Rockwell Automation, Inc. for $1.8 billion, comprised of $1.75 billion in cash and 1.6 million shares of Baldor common stock.

Baldor is a Fort Smith, Ark., manufacturer of industrial electric motors, drives and generators.

Freescale fluctuates with repricing

Freescale Semiconductor's term loan B finished the session minimally lower on a day-over-day basis but regained most of the ground it lost immediately after news of a repricing surfaced, according to a trader.

The term loan B ended the day at par ¾ bid, 101 offered, compared to Tuesday's closing levels of par 7/8 bid, 101 1/8 offered, the trader said.

However, on the open Wednesday, when investors first heard about the repricing proposal, the term loan was seen as low as par 5/8 bid, par 7/8 offered before creeping most of the way back up, the trader added.

Freescale is set to hold a conference call on Thursday to officially launch its term loan B repricing, that would take the spread down to Libor plus 175 bps from Libor plus 200 bps.

Citigroup and Credit Suisse are the lead banks on the deal.

Freescale is an Austin, Texas, designer and manufacturer of embedded semiconductors for the automotive, consumer, industrial, networking and wireless markets.

IFM spread guidance

IFM (Industry Funds Management) held a bank meeting on Wednesday to officially kick off syndication on its proposed $225 million five-year term loan B, and in conjunction with the launch, price talk on the loan emerged, according to a market source.

The term loan B was presented to lenders with talk of Libor plus 225 to 250 bps, the source said, adding that people are still focused on where ratings will come out.

Merrill Lynch is the lead bank on the deal.

Proceeds will be used to fund a portion of the acquisition of the 15.8% minority interest in Colonial Pipeline held by Citgo Petroleum Corp. for $641 million. The financing also includes $426 million of equity.

Great Canadian flexes

Great Canadian Gaming reverse flexed pricing on its term loan B that will be the dollar equivalent of C$200 million by 50 bps, according to a market source.

The term loan B is now priced at Libor plus 150 bps, down from original talk at launch of Libor plus 200 bps, the source said.

Great Canadian Gaming's C$400 million credit facility (Ba2/BB) also includes a C$200 million Canadian revolving credit facility that was launched to Canadian banks.

Goldman Sachs and TD Securities are the lead banks on the deal, with Goldman the left lead on the term loan B and TD the left lead on the revolver.

Proceeds from the credit facility, along with senior subordinated notes, will be used to repay the company's C$450 million bridge facility and to provide for working capital, capital expenditures and other general corporate purposes.

Great Canadian Gaming is a Richmond, B.C., gaming and entertainment operator.

Rexnord closes

Rexnord Corp. completed its acquisition of Zurn Industries Inc., the plumbing products business of Jacuzzi Brands, Inc., for a cash purchase price of about $942 million, according to a news release.

To help fund the transaction, Rexnord got $200 million of new term loan debt (Ba2/B+) priced at Libor plus 225 bps with a step down to Libor plus 200 bps effective when leverage is at or below 5.5 times.

During syndication, pricing on the term loan was flexed down from original talk at launch of Libor plus 250 bps with the addition of the step.

The term loan was originally going to be an add-on to the company's existing term loan B, but in the end it was done as a separate tranche.

Pricing on the existing term loan B debt is staying at Libor plus 250 bps because there is call protection in place.

Credit Suisse acted as the lead bank on the deal.

RBS Global, Inc., the parent company of Rexnord and a portfolio company of Apollo Management, is a Milwaukee-based, manufacturer of highly engineered power transmission, aerospace and other precision motion technology products.

Scotts Miracle-Gro closes

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. closed on its new $2.15 billion senior secured credit facility, according to a company news release.

JPMorgan, Bank of America and Citigroup acted as the lead banks on the deal.

The facility consists of a $560 million five-year term loan and a $1.59 billion five-year revolver, with both tranches priced at Libor plus 125 bps, a company spokesman told Prospect News.

During syndication, the term loan was upsized from $550 million and the revolver was upsized from $1.55 billion.

Proceeds are being used to replace the company's previous $1.05 billion credit facility, to repurchase up to $200 million of its 6.625% senior subordinated notes due 2013 and to fund the recapitalization plan to return $750 million to shareholders through the modified Dutch auction tender offer and, subject to approval from the board of directors, a special one-time cash dividend of at least $500 million.

Scotts Miracle-Gro is a Marysville, Ohio, marketer of branded consumer lawn and garden products.

TransDigm closes

TransDigm Group Inc. closed on its $130 million term loan B add-on and $50 million revolver add-on, with both add-ons priced at Libor plus 200 bps.

During syndication, the term loan B add-on was downsized from $180 million as the company's 7¾% bond offering was upsized to $300 million from $250 million.

Credit Suisse and Lehman acted as the lead banks on the incremental bank debt (Ba3/B+/BB-).

Proceeds from the term loan add-on and the bonds were be used to fund the acquisition of Aviation Technologies Inc. for about $430 million in cash.

The revolver add-on is not being used for acquisition financing; it was just done in conjunction with the deal.

TransDigm is a Cleveland-based designer, producer and supplier of highly engineered aircraft components. Aviation Technologies is a Seattle-based supplier of aerospace products.

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