GSO/Blackstone refinances; Voya preps $569 million CLO; middle-market activity continues pace

By Cristal Cody

Tupelo, Miss., June 23 – GSO/Blackstone Debt Funds Management LLC has joined the growing number of managers to refinance vintage deals this year with a refinancing of a 2012 offering.

GSO/Blackstone Debt Funds Management LLC refinanced $507 million of notes and placed the AAA-rated tranche at Libor plus 128 basis points.

CLO managers have refinanced 19 vintage U.S. CLOs totaling $7.5 billion year to date, according to J.P. Morgan Securities LLC.

Coming up in the deal pipeline, Voya Alternative Asset Management LLC plans to price a $569 million CLO.

Looking at the CLO middle-market space, competition in the middle-market lending space likely will increase with new market participants, according to a report from Wells Fargo Securities, LLC senior analyst Dave Preston and associate analyst Mackenzie Miller.

Ares Capital Corp. announced a new middle-market lending partnership with Varagon Capital Partners in the previous week. The companies plan a joint venture called the Senior Direct Lending Program that will make senior secured loans to middle-market companies.

Six middle-market CLO managers have priced $3 billion of deals year to date, according to the Wells Fargo report.

“Primary issuance of U.S. middle-market CLO issuance was $7.2 billion in 2014, compared to $116.8 billion in U.S. BSL CLO issuance,” the analysts said, comparing the sector with broadly syndicated loans. “In 2014, MM CLO issuance was only 5.8% of total U.S. CLO issuance; year to date, MM CLO issuance is 5.5% of total U.S issuance. During Q2 2015, MM CLO AAA tranches have priced 35 bps wider than those from broadly syndicated loan CLOs.”

GSO/Blackstone refinances

GSO/Blackstone Debt Funds Management refinanced $507 million of notes due May 18, 2023 at par in a vintage 2012 CLO transaction, according to a market source.

Marine Park CLO Ltd./Marine Park CLO LLC sold $343 million of class A1A-R senior secured floating-rate notes at Libor plus 128 bps in the senior tranche.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC was the refinancing agent.

GSO/Blackstone is the CLO manager.

The deal is backed primarily by broadly syndicated first lien senior secured corporate loans.

GSO/Blackstone has been in the primary market with three new CLO deals year to date.

The New York City-based subsidiary of alternative asset manager GSO Capital Partners LP brought five U.S. CLOs in 2014.

Voya offers $569 million

Voya Alternative Asset Management plans to price $569 million of notes due 2027 in the Voya CLO 2015-2, Ltd./Voya CLO 2015-2 LLC deal, according to a market source.

The offering includes $3 million of class X floating-rate notes; $335.5 million of class A floating-rate notes; $71.5 million of class B floating-rate notes; $41.25 million of class C floating-rate notes; $33 million of class D floating-rate notes; $24.75 million of class E floating-rate notes and $60 million of subordinated notes.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is the placement agent.

Voya Alternative Asset Management will manage the CLO.

The CLO will have a two-year non-call period and a five-year reinvestment period.

The deal is backed primarily by broadly syndicated senior secured corporate loans.

Proceeds from the offering will be used to purchase a portfolio of about $550 million of mostly senior secured leveraged loans.

The firm previously priced the $612.5 million Voya CLO 2015-1 Ltd./Voya CLO 2015-1 LLC deal on March 3.

Voya Alternative Asset Management, part of New York City-based Voya Investment Management LLC, brought four CLO deals in 2014.

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