Staples allocates, trades higher; NorthStar prices; secondary quiet amid continued outflows

By Paul A. Harris

Portland, Ore., Jan. 29 – A quiet Friday session closed out a quiet week in bank loan trading, according to a trader based on the East Coast of the United States.

Players are on the sidelines, said the trader.

One reason is continued outflows from the retail accounts.

Dedicated bank loan funds sustained $784 million of outflows for the week to last Wednesday’s close, the trader said, relating a weekly report from Lipper-AMG.

Redemptions have been mitigated, somewhat, by paydowns, said the trader, noting that accounts have seen recent paydowns from Crown Castle, Dollar Tree and The Weather Channel.

However outflows and the expectation of a deal calendar are presently tending to keep people on the sidelines, the trader said.

In the primary market, Staples Inc. downsized $2.5 billion term loan allocated and traded higher.

The Staples deal priced at 99 and traded to 99¼ bid, 99 5/8 offered, the trader said.

And NorthStar Asset Management Group Inc. priced its $500 million term loan.

NorthStar priced its $500 million seven-year senior secured term loan B (Ba2/BBB-) with a 387.5-bps spread to Libor atop a 0.75% Libor floor at 96.50.

The deal was generically 96½ bid, 97½ offered, according to a market source.

Caliber Collision scheduled a meeting with lenders at 10 a.m. ET on Thursday to launch an upsizing of its existing senior term loan to $685 million, according to a market source.

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