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The bank debt under the wider Edison International umbrella was a touch stronger last week after Edison Mission Energy (EME) retired its $275 million loan using proceeds from a senior note offering. The loan was set to expire on Tuesday and the paper was quoted in the low 90s prior to the news. The $345 million of new notes were issued by Sunrise Power Company, which is 50% owned by a subsidiary of EME. The financing provided EME with approximately $151 million in proceeds. A $212 million "B" loan remains under EME's credit facility of which only $125 million is outstanding. This piece expires in September 2004.

David Glancy, a high-profile junk bond manager for Fidelity Investments, is prepping his new hedge fund venture after leaving the giant money manager this past summer. Glancy's new firm, Andover Capital Advisors, will manage the Andover Capital fund, according to marketing materials obtained by AIN. The fund will invest in the "stocks, bonds and bank debt of companies with below-investment grade rated debt. Andover Capital will focus on the best opportunities within capital structures of both healthy and distressed leveraged companies throughout market cyclesÉ" The fund will invest in roughly 30-50 issuers that operate primarily in North America, the document said.

FleetBoston Financial was scheduled to launch syndication last Friday of a $350 million credit for solid waste management company IESI Corp. The deal includes a seven-year, $175 million "B" term loan priced at LIBOR plus 31/2% and a five-year, $175 million revolver priced at LIBOR plus 31/4%, according to a banker. Proceeds from the credit will go toward refinancing IESI's existing debt as well as to finance an undisclosed acquisition, the banker explained. LaSalle Bank signed onto the credit as syndication agent, taking a smaller underwriting commitment, he noted. A few "B" loan commitments rolled into the tranche ahead of the meeting, he added. A Fleet official declined to comment.

Goldman Sachs is marketing the notes backing a collateralized loan obligation for Fidelity Investments, the second CLO the firm has led for the asset management giant. The $400 million deal is called Ballyrock CDO II and is a cash-flow arbitrage CLO. Last year, Goldman underwrote Ballyrock CDO I, also a $400 million CLO (LMW, 1/02). Officials at Goldman and Fidelity declined comment.

Helm Holding's bank debt was two points weaker last week as the name came under supply and demand pressure. The bank debt slipped from the 941/2 962/3 level to the 921/2 - 95 context, according to LoanX. Traders said the name has come under technical pressure as sellers come to market and buyers of the name back off. Helm leases railroad cars. Officials from Helm could not be reached by press time. FleetBoston Financial holds the lead role on Helm's credit facility.

Deutsche Bank is in the market with a $185 million senior secured, asset-based credit facility for Hines Horticulture, according to Jeff Meister, director of finance. Hines opted to switch to an asset-based deal from a cash-flow deal for several reasons, including better interest rates, as the company is highly leveraged, Meister said. Moody's Investors Service reported the company's leverage at 4.66 times as of last June and assigned a B1 rating to the credit. The new deal, which includes a five-year, $40 million term loan and a $145 million revolver, is priced in the LIBOR plus 21/4-31/4% and LIBOR plus 13/4-23/4% ranges, respectively, Meister explained. Both tranches are tied to a leverage-based grid.

Wachovia Securities and Bear Stearns pushed back the bank meeting date for DRS Technologies, which was set for last Thursday, to avoid bumping heads with Hurricane Isabel. "The timing wasn't so critical that we had to [have the bank meeting last] week," said Richard Schneider, cfo. The meeting is now scheduled to be held tomorrow, he said.

Avoca Capital, a company formed in 2002 to provide investment advisory services to European collateralized loan obligations, is in the market with its debut deal targeting European leveraged loans and some mezzanine investments. Deutsche Bank is said to be the lead arranger for the E300 million transaction. Prior to founding Avoca, Donal Daly, managing director, was CLO Director at AIB Capital Markets, where he was responsible for the management of two CLO funds, Tara Hill (E350million) and Clare Island (E425million). Daly declined comment on the vehicle and any potential timing for pricing the notes.

Jefferies & Co. is planning a major advance in offering services to its middle-market clients and one of its top priorities is to develop ways to offer senior bank lending. "This is a business that makes sense for us in several different configurations and fits in with our business model. In conjunction with our financing abilities in the public and private markets, we will be able to provide senior debt to our clients," explained Ray Minella, director of investment banking capital markets. "We are focused on getting that capability up and running." In terms of timeframe, Jefferies "would like to have it done yesterday. This is a high priority for us," Minella stated.

J.P. Morgan launched syndication last Wednesday of a $1.2 billion refinancing credit for The Scotts Company. The deal includes a $650 million "B" loan and a $550 million revolver. Market players said pricing on the deal is in the LIBOR plus 21/4% range. Scotts, a supplier of lawn and garden care products, has also commenced a cash tender offer for any and all of its $400 million outstanding 85/8% senior subordinated notes due 2009. The tender offer will be financed with the new credit, as well as with a proposed senior subordinated note offering for $200 million. Citigroup and Bank of America are acting as dealer managers in connection with the tender offer. A J.P. Morgan spokesman declined to comment.

Leap Wireless International's vendor-financing paper shot up roughly 10 points last week from the 43 level into the 52-54 range. Dealers said the name traded as high as 55 before softening into the low 50s. A few market players noted that a recent public transaction demonstrated positive valuations and the market was drawing parallels to Leap Wireless. One trader suggested that this transaction was for MetroPCS, a Dallas-based wireless services provider that is seeking $150 million in new senior notes. MetroPCS has a comparable business plan to Leap Wireless, so some investors believe that if MetroPCS can obtain new financing, Leap Wireless can too, he explained. There were also rumblings that a private equity investor could be on the sidelines, said one trader.

Adelphia Communications' bank debt traded up last week in front of a Sept. 19 deadline for the bank debt holders to issue a response or file a motion to dismiss the complaint filed against them by Adelphia's Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors. The complaint alleges that bank debt holders knew of, or recklessly disregarded, the fraud committed by the Rigas family, particularly in regard to the co-borrowing arrangements the family had with various corporate credit facilities. When LMW went to press, the banks and the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors were negotiating a two-week extension to that deadline, according to an attorney familiar with the case. The banks are expected to file a motion to dismiss the complaint, he added.