J.P. Morgan is in the market with a new $50 million revolver and $100 million "B" loan for SHPS that refinances a $50 million "A" loan and $15 million revolver. The company is refinancing because of better market conditions and a need for a little more capacity, according toMerle Ryland, cfo of the provider of outsourced employee benefits and care management services. "We did the first loan in March '03, coincidental with our acquisition of Ebenx and we did two subsequent acquisitions in March and April of this year so it was just time to upsize," he said.
J.P. Morgan was the previous lead arranger. Other participants in the credit were CIBC World Markets, Lehman Brothers and Wachovia Securities. "We expect they will participate this time around," Ryland noted. "It's obviously a very supportive group-- we wanted to go back and get a little bigger size."
The pricing on the new credit is expected to be around LIBOR plus 3 1/4% and is better than the previous rate, Ryland said, though he did not disclose the old spread. Syndication is expected to close next week. Welson, Carson, Anderson and Stowe acquired the company in 2000.