NCI Building allocates, rises; AWAS, eResearch reset talk; loans mostly stable as stocks reel

By Paul A. Harris

Portland, Ore., June 25 - NCI Building Systems Inc.'s $250 million Libor plus 675 basis points first-lien term loan (Caa1/B) due May 2, 2018 priced at 95 and traded to 96 bid, 97 offered.

AWAS Aviation Capital Ltd. narrowed price talk on its $360 million six-year term loan (Ba2//) to Libor plus 450 basis point from previous talk of Libor plus 450 to 475 bps.

Also, eResearch Technology Inc. upped pricing on its $220 million six-year term loan to Libor plus 650 basis points from 600 bps.

Cash loans traded a quarter-point to half-point lower on Monday as stocks plummeted, a bank loan trader said.

The LCDX bank loan index was a quarter-point lower on the day at 98 offered.

"You saw the kind of relative stability in loans that you would expect when the stock market becomes volatile," the trader said.

Recent issues continue to perform well, the source added.

P.F. Chang's China Bistro Inc.'s Libor plus 500 bps seven-year term loan B was par bid, said the trader.

The $305 million deal (Ba3/B+) priced last week at 99.

"It's a sign that the new issue market is doing well," the source commented.

"Wells Fargo, which led, doesn't do all that many deals, but those which they do bring generally have a good following," the trader added.

Elsewhere, information surfaced on a pair of Bids Wanted In Competition (BWICs), one dated June 22 featuring $311 million of loans, the other dated June 25 featuring $142 million of loans.

NCI Building allocates

The NCI Building $250 million term loan's Libor spread came on top of talk that had tightened during marketing from 700 bps.

Initial guidance on the deal was Libor plus 600 bps, according to a market source.

The discount came on top of discount talk, which has steepened from earlier guidance of 97.

The deal hit the market talked at only a single point of original issue discount.

The 1.25% Libor floor was left unchanged.

There is soft call protection of 102 in year one and 101 in year two.

At the time of the first pricing change, call protection was sweetened from just 101 soft call for one year and the tenor was shortened from seven years.

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, RBC Capital Markets LLC, UBS Securities LLC and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. are leading the loan.

Proceeds were used to fund the $145 million acquisition of Metl-Span LLC from BlueScope Steel North America Corp. and refinance an existing loan - the completion of which was announced by the company on Friday.

Other funds for the transaction came from about $40 million of cash on hand.

AWAS narrows talk

Discount talk on AWAS Aviation's six-year term loan (Ba2//) to was cut to 99 from 98.5.

A loan trader remarked that the deal, which is expected to allocate on Tuesday, is going well.

As reported, the deal comes with a 1.25% Libor floor and features 101 soft call protection for one year.

Goldman Sachs & Co., RBC Capital Markets LLC and Morgan Stanley Senior Funding Inc. are the lead banks on the deal.

Proceeds will be used to fund a portfolio of aircraft.

eResearch term loan

Discount talk on eResearch Technology's $220 million term loan widened to 96 from 97.

The deal is expected to close this week.

The term loan has 101 soft call protection for one year.

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Jefferies Finance LLC are the joint lead arrangers and bookrunners.

In addition to the term loan, the $270 million deal has a $50 million five-year revolver.

Proceeds will be used to help fund the acquisition of the company by Genstar Capital LLC for $8 per share in cash.

Elsewhere, the Savers Inc. $655 million seven-year term loan B is oversubscribed and appears to be shaping up at the tight end of its talk of Libor plus 500 basis points to 525 bps price talk, according to a buyside source, who added that the reoffer price is expected to come at the rich end of the 98 to 98½ OID talk.

Goldman Sachs, Barclays, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank are the joint bookrunners and joint lead arrangers on the deal, which is expected to allocated this week.

"It's seeing decent demand because the CLOs are gobbling it up," the buysider commented.

CLOs are also active in WireCo WorldGroup Inc.'s $325 million term loan B, which is talked in the Libor plus 500 basis points context with a 1.25% Libor floor and an original issue discount of 981/2.

Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank are the lead banks on the deal, which is also oversubscribed, the source said.

The CLOs are putting a bid into the bank loan market, helping to fill a gap created by weak flows into the bank loan mutual funds, the source said.

Thus far in 2012, the mutual funds have seen a lackluster $1.2 billion of flows. At this point in 2011, inflows came to a robust $6.1 billion.

© 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.