The Univision bank group was busy last week pre-marketing the almost $8 billion worth of loans to some banks and a select group of larger accounts. Some have already written tickets ahead of a planned bank meeting this week, although late Thursday there was a possibility the meeting may get pushed back as some regulatory issues are still being worked out. As of press time Friday morning it was not clear whether or not the meeting would still occur this week or not.
The deal was announced in June, but has been held up awaiting regulatory approval.
The financing is being talked as a $7 billion term loan "B," a $225 million delayed draw and a $500 million second lien. The term loan is covenant lite and pricing is being talked at LIBOR plus 2 1/4% on the term loan, but it is unclear if it will come in at that level. There is also $1.5 billion of notes.
The big focus point is the leverage, 12.1 through senior notes; 10.3 through the second lien and 9.7 times through the senior debt. One banker said that although leverage may sound high, media deals often have higher leverage. According to a Standard & Poor's report from October, if the Cablevision deal had gone through, debt to EBITDA would have been nearly 10 times.
Despite the leverage, a company deemed successful by investors, in a market that seems able to finance anything, should do well. "We like the company; it's an enterprise that is successful," one portfolio manager said. Another was looking forward to it, hoping the large size could sop up some of the liquidity lying around. "This one could test the market and believe me we need it," he said. Testing the market may be more of a case of whether or not it clears at 225, but it could help to make deals price more evenly. "I don't think it will suck everything up," the banker said. "But it could slow people down."
In June, Univision accepted a buyout offer from a consortium of private equity groups including Madison Dearborn Partners, Providence Equity Partners, Texas Pacific Group, Thomas H. Lee Partners and Saban Capital Group (CIN, 6/30). Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, Bank of America, Wachovia Securities, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lehman Brothers are leading the financing. Bankers and bank spokesmen either declined comment or did not return calls or emails. A call to a Univision spokeswoman was not returned by press time.
