La Grange active at high end levels; Charter term loan A up on retail demand

By Sara Rosenberg

New York, June 4 - La Grange Acquisition LP's term loan add-on continued to trade actively on Friday at the high end of where the paper has been quoted since hitting the secondary last Friday. Also active was Charter Communications Inc.'s term loan A at slightly stronger levels as retail investors were looking to buy.

La Grange's $400 million term loan add-on traded a number of times around par 7/8 on Friday, according to a trader. Since breaking, the paper has been quoted in the par ¾ bid, par 7/8 offered context and has been moving around quite actively at those levels, the trader added.

The add-on, which was led by Bank of America, is priced at Libor plus 300 basis points, in line with pricing on the rest of the company's existing $325 million term loan that was obtained in January and matures on Jan. 18, 2008.

Proceeds were used to help fund the Energy Transfer Partners LP's acquisition of all of the midstream natural gas assets of TXU Fuel Co. for about $500 million, which closed earlier this week.

La Grange, a Texas limited partnership that is engaged in midstream natural gas operations, is a subsidiary of Energy Transfer Partners, a Tulsa, Okla., partnership that owns and operates a diversified portfolio of energy assets.

Charter higher

Charter's term loan A was up by about an eighth of a point during market hours Friday trading around 981/4, according to a trader.

"Retail is coming in and buying it," the trader said in explanation of the paper's activity and strength.

Charter is a St. Louis cable company.

Yankees allocations Monday

The New York Yankees $225 million term loan that is priced with an interest rate of Libor plus 250 basis points is anticipated to allocate and break for trading on Monday, according to a market source.

Goldman Sachs is the lead bank on the deal from the New York major league baseball franchise.

Yonkers launch

A bank meeting for Yonkers Raceway's $185 million term loan is now expected to take place during the week of June 21, according to a market source. Previously it was only known that the deal was going to be a June affair.

Merrill Lynch is the lead bank on the deal.

Pricing on the term loan is not being revealed at this time since the syndicate is still waiting for ratings on the deal.

Proceeds will be used by the Yonkers, N.Y., horse racing track to fund construction, according to the source.

Dresser closes

Dresser Inc. closed on its $175 million term loan C add-on (Ba3/BB-), according to a company news release. Morgan Stanley is the lead arrangers, bookrunner and administrative agent on the term loan C.

The add-on carries an interest rate of Libor plus 250 basis points, the same pricing as the existing term loan C carries.

Proceeds were used to fund the approximately $170 million purchase of the distribution businesses of Nuovo Pignone, S.p.A., a subsidiary of General Electric Co. The businesses purchased, which consist of retail fueling systems and gas meter businesses, will become part of Dresser Wayne, a business unit of Dresser Inc., that is a manufacturer, supplier and services retail fuel dispensers, dispenser control systems, credit/debit card processing terminals and point-of-sale systems.

"The completion of this transaction gives us a greater global capability to serve our customers," said John Ryan, president of Dresser Wayne, in the release. "We are acquiring businesses that have a strong presence in southern Europe and northern Africa, with important positions in several growth markets including China.

"The purchase also broadens our product portfolio in alternative fuels, brings a strong management team into the Dresser Wayne organization, and gives us a highly efficient manufacturing organization with a skilled labor force."

Dresser is a Dallas designer, manufacturer and marketer of highly engineered equipment and services sold primarily to customers in the flow control, measurement systems, and compression and power systems segments of the energy industry.

Maax closes

The leveraged buyout of Maax Inc. by J.W. Childs Associates LP, Borealis Private Equity LP and Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System was completed, according to a company news release.

To help fund the LBO, Maax obtained a $110 million term loan B (B1/B+) with an interest rate of Libor plus 275 basis points, a C$50 million revolver with an interest rate of Libor plus 250 basis points and a C$130 million term loan A with an interest rate of Libor plus 250 basis points.

Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and Royal Bank of Canada are the lead banks on the deal, with Goldman listed on the left.

Under the terms of the acquisition, which was announced in March, Maax shareholders received $22.50 per common share in cash and the Sponsor Group indirectly acquired all the issued and outstanding shares for a purchase price of about $640 million, including the assumption of existing debt.

Maax is a Sainte-Marie de Beauce, Quebec-based manufacturer of bathroom products and accessories, spas and kitchen cabinets.

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