Pacific Bells, IMA tweak deals; Anthology, Filtration, Synaptics, Heubach, Avantor set talk

By Sara Rosenberg

New York, Oct. 12 – In the leveraged loan primary market on Tuesday, Pacific Bells LLC reduced the size of its delayed-draw term loan B, and widened spread and original issue discount on the delayed-draw and funded term debt, and IMA Financial Group trimmed pricing on its term loan and modified issue price talk.

Also, Anthology, Filtration Group, Synaptics Inc., Heubach Group, Avantor Inc., Instructure and Traverse Midstream Partners LLC released price talk with launch.

In addition, Multi-Color Corp., Chamberlain Group LLC (Chariot Buyer LLC), Pathway Vet Alliance LLC, Idera Inc., McGraw-Hill Education Inc., Draslovka Holding (Manchester Acquisition Sub LLC) and Astound Broadband (Radiate HoldCo LLC) joined this week’s primary calendar.

Pacific Bells reworked

Pacific Bells scaled back its seven-year covenant-lite delayed-draw term loan B to $25 million from $75 million, increased pricing on the delayed-draw term loan and on its $460 million seven-year covenant-lite term loan B to Libor plus 450 basis points from Libor plus 425 bps, and revised the original issue discount on the debt to 99 from 99.5, according to a market source.

As before, the term loan debt has a 0.5% Libor floor and 101 soft call protection for six months.

Delayed-draw term loan ticking fees are half the spread from days 31 to 60 and the full spread thereafter.

The company’s now $535 million of credit facilities also include a $50 million five-year revolver.

Commitments were due at 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday, the source added.

Citizens Bank, Fifth Third and Truist are leading the deal that will be used to help fund the buyout of the company by Orangewood Partners.

Closing is subject to regulatory approval and certain commercial arrangements.

Pacific Bells is the fifth largest franchisee of Taco Bell restaurants in the United States.

IMA cuts spread

IMA Financial lowered pricing on its $530 million term loan (B3) to Libor plus 375 bps from talk in the range of Libor plus 400 bps to 425 bps and changed the original issue discount talk to a range of 99 to 99.5 from just 99, a market source said.

The term loan still has a 0.5% Libor floor and 101 soft call protection for six months.

Recommitments were due at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, the source added.

BMO Capital Markets, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and U.S. Bank are leading the deal that will be used to refinance about $250 million of existing debt and fund acquisitions under letters-of-intent.

IMA Financial is an insurance brokerage firm.

Anthology guidance

Anthology held its lender call on Tuesday morning and announced price talk on its $1.3 billion seven-year term loan B (B2/B-/BB-) at Libor plus 475 bps to 500 bps with a 0.5% Libor floor and an original issue discount of 99, according to a market source.

Commitments are due at 5 p.m. ET on Oct. 20.

JPMorgan Chase Bank, UBS Investment Bank, Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Barclays and Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc. are leading the deal that will be used to help fund the acquisition of Blackboard Inc.

The combined entity will be majority owned by Veritas Capital. Leeds Equity Partners will hold a minority stake in the company. Veritas and Leeds are currently the majority owners of Anthology. Providence Equity Partners LLC, Blackboard’s existing majority owner, will hold a minority stake in the combined company.

Closing is expected by the end of the year, subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals.

Anthology is a Boca Raton, Fla.-based provider of higher education solutions that support the entire learner lifecycle. Blackboard is an EdTech software and solutions company.

Filtration proposed terms

Filtration Group came out with talk of Libor plus 350 bps to 375 bps with a 0.5% Libor floor, an original issue discount of 99.5 and 101 soft call protection for six months on its $600 million seven-year incremental first-lien term loan (B3/B) that launched with a call in the morning, a market source remarked.

Commitments are due on Oct. 20, the source added.

Goldman Sachs Bank USA, JPMorgan Chase Bank and BMO Capital Markets are leading the deal, which will be used with cash on hand to finance the acquisition of Columbus Industries.

Filtration Group is a provider of filtration solutions, serving a diverse portfolio of global end markets. Columbus Industries is a provider of high-end consumable air filters for critical indoor air quality applications.

Synaptics reveals talk

Synaptics launched on its morning call its $600 million seven-year first-lien term loan (Ba1/BB-) at talk of Libor plus 250 bps with a 0.5% Libor floor and an original issue discount of 99 to 99.5, according to a market source.

The term loan has 101 soft call protection for six months.

Commitments are due at noon ET on Oct. 21, the source added.

Barclays, Wells Fargo Securities LLC, MUFG and BMO Capital Markets are leading the deal that will be used to fund the acquisition of DSP Group Inc. for $22.00 per share.

Closing is expected by the end of the year, subject to DSP Group shareholder approval and customary conditions.

Synaptics is a San Jose, Calif.-based provider of high performance IoT and PC semiconductor solutions. DSP is a provider of voice and wireless chipset solutions for converged communications.

Heubach launches

Heubach Group released talk of Libor plus 475 bps to 500 bps with a 0.5% Libor floor and an original issue discount of 99 on its $610 million seven-year term loan B (B2/B) that launched with a call in the morning, a market source remarked.

The term loan has 101 soft call protection for six months.

Commitments are due at 10 a.m. ET on Oct. 22, the source added.

BofA Securities Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., KeyBanc Capital Markets, MUFG, Citizens Bank and ING are leading the deal, which will be used to fund the acquisition of Clariant’s pigments business for about CHF 805 million, with additional consideration of CHF 50 million contingent on the 2021 financial performance of the business unit.

Closing is expected in the first half of 2022, subject to customary conditions and approvals.

Heubach is a producer of anti-corrosive pigments.

Avantor holds call

Avantor held its call in the afternoon, launching its fungible $900 million incremental first-lien term loan B-5 (//BB+) due November 2027 with original issue discount talk of 99.5 and 101 soft call protection for six months, according to a market source.

Like the existing term B-5, the incremental loan is priced at Libor plus 225 bps with a 0.5% Libor floor.

Commitments are due at 10 a.m. ET on Oct. 19, the source added.

Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., BofA Securities Inc., Barclays, PNC Bank, Wells Fargo Securities LLC and HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. are leading the deal that will be used with $800 million of unsecured debt and a common stock offering to fund the acquisition of the Masterflex bioprocessing business and related assets of Antylia Scientific for $2.9 billion.

Closing is expected in the fourth quarter, subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals.

Avantor is a Radnor, Pa.-based provider of mission-critical products and services to customers in the life sciences and advanced technologies & applied materials industries. Masterflex is a Vernon Hills, Ill.-based manufacturer of peristaltic pumps and aseptic single-use fluid transfer technologies.

Instructure shops loan

Instructure held a lender call at 1 p.m. ET to launch a $500 million first-lien term loan B (B1) talked at Libor plus 300 bps to 325 bps with a 0.5% Libor floor, an original issue discount of 99.5 and 101 soft call protection for six months, a market source said.

Commitments are due at 5 p.m. ET on Oct. 21, the source added.

JPMorgan Chase Bank, Morgan Stanley Senior Funding Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Golub are leading the deal that will be used to refinance existing debt.

Instructure is a Salt Lake City-based educational technology company.

Traverse floats guidance

Traverse Midstream Partners held a lender call at 3:30 p.m. ET, launching a $1.35 billion term loan B (B3/B) talked at SOFR plus 10 bps CSA plus 425 bps spread with a 1% SOFR+CSA floor, an original issue discount of 99.5 and 101 soft call protection for six months, according to a market source.

Commitments are due at 5 p.m. ET on Oct. 19, the source added.

JPMorgan Chase Bank is leading the deal that will be used to reprice an existing term loan and the $39 million of incremental debt being raised will be used with cash on hand to repay Energy Transfer LP for a deferred capital call.

Traverse was formed in June 2014 by the Energy & Minerals Group to build a portfolio of non-operated midstream assets.

Multi-Color coming soon

Multi-Color emerged with plans to hold a lender call at 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday to launch a $1.972 billion equivalent U.S. and euro term loan B (B2/B-), according to a market source. The split of U.S. and euro term loan debt is still to be determined.

The term loan has 101 soft call protection for six months, the source said.

BofA Securities Inc., Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Barclays, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., RBC Capital Markets, UBS Investment Bank and Wells Fargo Securities LLC are leading the deal that will be used to help fund the acquisition by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice of Multi-Color from Platinum Equity and Fort Dearborn from Advent International, and merger of the two companies.

Closing is expected by the end of the year, subject to customary conditions.

Multi-Color is a Cincinnati-based label solutions company. Fort Dearborn is an Elk Grove, Ill.-based label supplier to the consumer goods marketplace.

Chamberlain on deck

Chamberlain Group scheduled a lender call for 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday to launch a $1.925 billion seven-year covenant-lite term loan B, a market source remarked.

The term loan has 101 soft call protection for six months.

Commitments are due at noon ET on Oct. 22, the source added.

Wells Fargo Securities LLC, Barclays, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. are leading the deal that will be used to help fund the buyout of the company by Blackstone from Duchossois Group Inc. and to pay related fees and expenses. The transaction values Chamberlain Group at about $5 billion.

Closing is expected by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approvals and customary conditions.

Chamberlain Group is an Oak Brook, Ill.-based provider of smart access solutions across residential and commercial properties.

Pathway readies loan

Pathway Vet set a lender call for 10:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday to launch a fungible $250 million incremental first-lien term loan due March 2027 talked with an original issue discount of 99.25 to 99.5, according to a market source.

Pricing on the incremental term loan is Libor plus 375 bps with a 0% Libor floor.

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

Jefferies LLC is leading the deal that will be used to fund cash to the balance sheet for general corporate purposes, which may include acquisitions.

Pro forma for the transaction, the first-lien term loan will total $1.507 billion.

Pathway is an Austin, Tex.-based veterinary management group.

Idera joins calendar

Idera scheduled a lender call for 1:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday to launch a fungible $200 million incremental first-lien term loan due March 2028 talked with an original issue discount of 99.5 to 99.75, a market source said.

Pricing on the incremental first-lien term loan is Libor plus 375 bps with a 0.75% Libor floor.

Commitments are due at 4 p.m. ET on Oct. 19, the source added.

Jefferies LLC is leading the deal that will be used to fund an acquisition.

Pro forma for the transaction, the first-lien term loan will total $1,455,500,000.

Idera is a Houston-based provider of database, application development and testing software.

McGraw sets call

McGraw-Hill Education will hold a lender call at 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday to launch a fungible $575 million add-on term loan B (//BB+), according to a market source.

Pricing on the add-on term loan is Libor plus 475 bps with a 0.5% Libor floor, in line with the existing term loan B.

Original issue discount talk on the add-on term loan is not yet available, the source added.

BofA Securities Inc., BMO Capital Markets, Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc., BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., PNC Bank and UBS Investment Bank are leading the deal that will be used to fund the acquisition of Achieve3000, a Red Bank, N.J.-based learning platform.

McGraw-Hill, a portfolio company of Platinum Equity, is a New York-based learning science company.

Draslovka on deck

Draslovka set a lender call for 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday to launch a $335 million seven-year term loan B (B2/B) talked at SOFR plus 10 bps CSA plus 525 bps to 550 bps spread with a 0.75% SOFR+CSA floor and an original issue discount of 98, a market source remarked. The floor applies to SOFR plus 10 bps.

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

Commitments are due at 5 p.m. ET on Oct. 28, the source added.

JPMorgan Chase Bank is leading the deal that will be used to help fund the $520 million acquisition of the Mining Solutions business of Chemours Co.

Closing is expected in the fourth quarter, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions.

Draslovka is a Czech-based specialty chemicals company focused on applications for gold, agriculture, electronics and other industries.

Astound readies deal

Astound Broadband scheduled a lender call for 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday to launch a fungible $500 million add-on term loan B (B1) due 2026 talked with an original issue discount of 99.05 to 99.5, according to a market source.

Pricing on the add-on term loan is Libor plus 350 bps with a 0.75% Libor floor.

Commitments are due at 5 p.m. ET on Oct. 20, the source added.

JPMorgan Chase Bank and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC are leading the deal that will be used to help fund the acquisition of the Chicago, Evansville, Ind., and Anne Arundel, Md., assets of WOW! Internet, Cable & Phone for $661 million.

Astound Broadband is a Princeton, N.J.-based cable operator.

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