Merrill Lynch is in the market with a seven-year, $170 million term loan for Otis Spunkmeyer. The loan is priced at LIBOR plus 2 3/4%. The deal refinances the cookie company's existing $150 million term loan, which has $132.5 million outstanding. It is expected to close in the next week or two.
Moody's Investors Service assigned a B1 ranking to the deal, saying the company is supported by its dominant position in the frozen cookie dough category but has high operation leverage, reflecting 100% leased distributing and manufacturing facilities. It had about $305 million in net sales for the 2004 fiscal year. Ahmad Hamade, cfo, declined to comment.