Meredith, PQ changes emerge; Ping Identity moves deadline; FeeCo, MedRisk, Altran set talk

By Sara Rosenberg

New York, Jan. 17 – In the primary market on Wednesday, Meredith Corp. lowered the spread and tightened the original issue discount on its term loan B, PQ Corp. updated its term loan size and trimmed pricing, and Ping Identity Corp. accelerated the commitment deadline on its credit facilities.

Also, FeeCo, MedRisk LLC and Altran Technologies revealed price talk with launch, Cineworld Group plc set timing on the meetings for its credit facilities and released some price guidance, and Marketo Inc., EG Group, Realogy Holdings Corp. and SnapAV/Wirepath joined this week’s primary calendar.

Meredith flexes

Meredith cut pricing on its $1.8 billion seven-year covenant-light term loan B to Libor plus 300 basis points from Libor plus 325 bps and revised the original issue discount to 99.75 from 99.5, a market source remarked.

As before, the term loan has a 0% Libor floor and 101 soft call protection for six months.

The company’s $2.15 billion of senior secured credit facilities (Ba2/BB) also include a $350 million five-year revolver.

Recommitments are due at 10 a.m. ET on Thursday, the source added.

RBC Capital Markets, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Barclays and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. are leading the deal that will be used with $1.4 billion of senior unsecured notes and a $650 million preferred equity commitment from Koch Equity Development to fund the acquisition of Time Inc. for $18.50 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at $2.8 billion and to refinance existing debt.

Closing is expected this quarter, subject to customary conditions, the tender of a majority of the outstanding shares of Time common stock and regulatory approvals.

Pro forma leverage is around 2.9 times, including expected synergies.

Meredith is a Des Moines-based media and marketing company. Time is a New York-based media company.

PQ updates deal

PQ set the size on its seven-year senior secured covenant-light term loan (BB-) at $1,267,000,000 versus $1,255,000,000 outlined at launch due to the foreign exchange translation of the euros and lowered the spread to Libor plus 250 bps from talk in the range of Libor plus 275 bps to 300 bps, according to a market source.

The term loan still has a 0% Libor floor, an original issue discount of 99.75 and 101 soft call protection for six months.

Recommitments are due at noon ET on Thursday, the source said.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Morgan Stanley Senior Funding Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Jefferies LLC, Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and KeyBanc Capital Markets are leading the deal that will be used to refinance existing U.S. and euro term loans.

Closing is expected on Feb. 8.

PQ is a Malvern, Pa.-based producer of specialty inorganic performance chemicals and catalysts.

Ping revises deadline

Ping Identity moved up the commitment deadline on its $265 million of credit facilities (B3/B-) to end of day on Monday from Tuesday, a market source said.

The facilities consist of a $25 million revolver and a $240 million seven-year first-lien term loan.

Talk on the term loan is Libor plus 425 bps to 450 bps with a 1% Libor floor, an original issue discount of 99.5 and 101 soft call protection for six months.

Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Antares Capital and Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc. are leading the deal that will be used to refinance existing debt.

Ping Identity is a Denver-based provider of enterprise grade identity & access management solutions across hybrid IT deployments.

FeeCo releases talk

Also in the primary market, FeeCo held its bank meeting on Wednesday and with the event, price talk was announced on its $517.5 million seven-year covenant-light first-lien term loan (B2/B-) and $210 million eight-year covenant-light second-lien term loan (Caa2/CCC), according to a market source.

Talk on the first-lien term loan is Libor plus 450 bps with a 0% Libor floor, an original issue discount of 99.5 and 101 soft call protection for six months, and talk on the second-lien term loan is Libor plus 850 bps with a 0% Libor floor, a discount of 98.5 and hard call protection of 102 in year one and 101 in year two, the source said.

Commitments are due at noon ET on Jan. 30, the source added.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Barclays, Jefferies LLC and CIBC are leading the $727.5 million of term loans that will be used to help fund the acquisition of 51% of FeeCo by Madison Dearborn Partners from AmTrust Financial Services Inc.

The transaction values FeeCo at $1.15 billion, plus up to an additional $50 million upon exit, subject to agreed thresholds.

Closing is expected in the first half of this year, subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals.

FeeCo is an insurance-related fee revenue business.

MedRisk terms emerge

MedRisk released price talk on its $445 million seven-year first-lien term loan and $200 million eight-year second-lien term loan in connection with its late morning bank meeting, a market source remarked.

The first-lien term loan is talked at Libor plus 325 bps to 350 bps with a 0% Libor floor and an original issue discount of 99.5, and the second-lien term loan is talked at Libor plus 725 bps to 750 bps with a 0% Libor floor and a discount of 99, the source added.

Included in the first-lien term loan is 101 soft call protection for six months and the second-lien term loan has hard call protection of 102 in year one and 101 in year two.

The company’s $705 million of senior secured credit facilities also provide for a $60 million five-year revolver.

Commitments are due at noon ET on Jan. 31.

Jefferies LLC, Antares Capital, Barclays and Nomura are leading the deal that will be used with equity to fund the buyout of the company by the Carlyle Group from TA Associates.

MedRisk is a King of Prussia, Pa.-based provider of physical medicine solutions to the workers’ compensation industry.

Altran sets guidance

Altran Technologies came out with talk on its €2,125,000,000 equivalent U.S. and euro seven-year senior secured term loan B (Ba2/BB) as its New York bank meeting was held in the morning, according to a market source. A bank meeting for European investors was held in London on Tuesday.

Talk on the U.S. tranche is Libor plus 275 bps and talk on the euro piece is Euribor plus 300 bps. Both tranches are talked with a 0% floor, an original issue discount of 99.5 and 101 soft call protection for six months, the source said.

Also, both tranches have a pricing grid. If net leverage is 4 times, the U.S. piece will step-up to Libor plus 325 bps and the euro piece will step-up to Euribor plus 350 bps. If net leverage is 3.5 times to less than 4 times, the U.S. loan will step-up to Libor plus 300 bps and the euro loan will step-up to Euribor plus 325 bps. And, if net leverage is less than 3 times, the U.S. tranche will step-down to Libor plus 250 bps and the euro tranche will step-down to Euribor plus 275 bps.

Commitments are due at the close of business U.K. time on Jan. 29 and allocations are expected on Jan. 30.

Altran lead banks

Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Credit Agricole CIB and Morgan Stanley Senior Funding Inc. are leading Altran’s term loan debt.

Proceeds will be used with a potential €250 million bridge facility to fund the acquisition of Aricent from a group of investors led by KKR for €1.7 billion in an all-cash transaction and to early redeem some existing medium- and long-term debt.

The company is assuming that €750 million of equity will be used for the acquisition.

Altran is a France-based engineering and industrial consulting company. Aricent is a Redwood City, Calif.-based pure-play product engineering services firm.

Cineworld timing emerges

In more primary news, Cineworld surfaced with plans to hold a bank meeting in London on Thursday and a bank meeting on Mondays morning in New York to launch its $4,307,000,000 of senior secured credit facilities (B1/BB-), a market source remarked.

The facilities consist of a $300 million five-year revolver and a $4,007,000,000 equivalent seven-year covenant-light term loan that includes a carve-out of $1 billion across euro and GBP with the split to be determined.

Talk on the U.S. term loan is Libor plus 275 bps, talk on the euro loan is Euribor plus 300 bps and talk on the GBP loan is Libor plus 350 bps, the source continued. All of the term loan debt is talked with a 0% floor and 101 soft call protection for six months. Original issue discounts have not yet been announced.

Commitments are due on Feb. 5, the source added.

Barclays and HSBC Bank plc are the global coordinators on the deal.

Cineworld buying Regal

Proceeds from Cineworld’s credit facilities will be used to help fund the acquisition of Regal Entertainment Group for $23.00 in cash for each share of class A and class B common stock, for a total transaction value of $5.9 billion, including the assumption of debt and net of cash acquired, and to refinance existing debt.

The company also plans to use around $2.27 billion in equity for the transaction.

Closing is expected this quarter, subject to regulatory review, approval by the shareholders of Regal and Cineworld and other customary conditions.

Net leverage is expected to be around 4 times.

Cineworld is a London-based cinema operator. Regal is a Knoxville, Tenn.-based motion picture exhibitor.

Marketo on deck

Marketo scheduled a lenders’ presentation for 10:30 a.m. ET on Thursday to launch $465 million of senior secured credit facilities, according to a market source.

The facilities consist of a $35 million revolver and a $430 million term loan B, the source said.

Morgan Stanley Senior Funding Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Golub Capital Markets LLC, Jefferies LLC, Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc., Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Nomura Securities are leading the deal that will be used to refinance existing senior secured credit facilities, provide cash on balance sheet for general corporate purposes, and pay fees and expenses.

Marketo is a San Mateo, Calif.-based provider of engagement marketing software and solutions.

EG Group readies deal

EG Group set a bank meeting in London for Thursday and one in New York at 10 a.m. ET for Friday to launch a $500 million seven-year term loan B, a €1,985,000,000 seven-year term loan B and a £400 million seven-year term loan B, a market source said.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is the left lead on the deal (B2//B) that will be used to fund the acquisition of 1,165 Esso sites in Italy and 1,017 Esso sites in Germany and to refinance outstanding debt facilities.

EG Group is a European independent forecourt/convenience-store retailer.

Realogy joins calendar

Realogy scheduled a lender call for Thursday to launch an extension of its $1.08 billion term loan B by three years to January 2025, a market source remarked.

Talk on the extended B loan is Libor plus 225 bps with a 0.75% Libor floor and an original issue discount of 99.5 to par, the source added.

The company also intends to upsize its revolving credit facility by $350 million to $1.4 billion and extend the maturity by three years to January 2023, and to combine its two existing term loan A tranches into a new single tranche of $750 million and extend the current maturities to January 2023.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is leading the deal (Ba1/BB+) that is expected to close by early February.

Realogy is a Madison, N.J.-based provider of residential real estate services.

SnapAV plans call

SnapAV/Wirepath will hold a call at 2 p.m. ET on Thursday to launch a repricing of its term loan, according to a market source.

UBS Investment Bank is leading the deal.

Current term loan pricing is Libor plus 525 bps with a 1% Libor floor.

SnapAV is a Charlotte, N.C.-based manufacturer of audio, video, networking, power and surveillance products for residential and commercial A/V integrators.

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