Tribune sets Thursday launch for $10.133 billion facility

By Sara Rosenberg

New York, April 23 - Tribune Co. has scheduled a bank meeting for Thursday to launch its proposed $10.133 billion senior secured credit facility (BB-), according to a market source.

JPMorgan, Merrill Lynch, Citigroup and Bank of America are the joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners on the deal, with JPMorgan the administrative agent, Merrill as syndicate agent, and Citi and Bank of America as co-documentation agents.

The facility consists of a $7.015 billion seven-year term loan, a $2.105 billion seven-year incremental term loan, a $263 million seven-year delayed-draw term loan and a $750 million six-year revolver.

Proceeds from the facility, along with $2.1 billion of notes, will be used to help fund the company's public-to-private transaction.

In the first stage of the public-to-private transaction, Tribune will complete a cash tender offer for about 126 million shares at $34.00 per share and refinance its existing credit facilities.

In the second stage, Tribune will buy all the remaining outstanding shares of the company.

Tribune's existing publicly traded bonds are expected to remain outstanding.

The cash tender offer is expected to be completed in the second quarter and the purchase of the remaining shares is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter.

The going private transaction is being supported by Sam Zell with a $315 million investment.

Upon completion of the transaction, the company will be privately held, with an Employee Stock Ownership Plan holding all of Tribune's then-outstanding common stock and Zell holding a subordinated note and a warrant entitling him to acquire 40% of Tribune's common stock.

Tribune is a Chicago-based media company.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.