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Omaha, Neb.-based infoUSA recently restructured its $110 million credit facility, increasing the loan to $145 million in conjunction with a plan to redeem a portion of its 91/2% senior subordinated notes. The company wanted to take the opportunity to buy back its bonds to save on interest costs, explained Stormy Dean, infoUSA's cfo. The company has approximately $92 million of 91/2% senior subordinated notes outstanding. While infoUSA has been buying back notes on the open market, it has yet to make a decision on the total amount that the company will call, noted Dean.

American Cellular Corp.'s bank debt was stronger last week as the market buzzed that a debt restructuring plan is taking shape. The details of the plan could not be determined, but one trader noted that there was a meeting last Thursday to discuss the deal. The company's bank debt has ticked up out of the high 80s and into the low 90s context over the last couple of weeks. The "A" loan was said to be trading in the 92 range and the "B" loan was bid in the 90 context, last week.

A $10 million block of Exide Technologies' bank debt traded up roughly two to three points this week in the 59-60 range. The company has filed a request with the bankruptcy court authorizing the payment of due diligence fees for exit financing. Exide is currently negotiating a $400-450 million exit financing with a number of firms, noted Matthew Kleiman, a partner at Kirkland & Ellis and an attorney for Exide. Kleiman suggested that the pursuit of exit financing could be an indication that the company was getting closer to its goal of emerging from bankruptcy in the fall. The battery maker filed for bankruptcy last April. Calls to Biagio Vignolo, executive v.p. and cfo, were not returned.

Bank of East Asia was not able to find an acceptable bid for an $11 million piece of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.'s U.S. term loan, leading to a failed auction. The bank was rumored to be looking for 95-96 for the piece. The market for the paper has been ticking up from the low 90s. By Wednesday, traders quoted the loan in the 941/2 953/4 context. "I don't know who the heck will be willing to buy [Goodyear's bank debt]," said one buysider, noting that "there's a lot of wood to chop." Goodyear has a $750 million U.S. revolver, a $645 million U.S. term loan, as well as a $650 million European credit, which the company restructured this spring. The tire maker also added a new $1.3 billion asset-backed line.

Aaron Peck, formerly a director in Deerfield Capital Management's special opportunities group, has joined AEG Partners as senior director of AEG Investors, the investment group of the firm that focuses on acquiring underperforming commercial loans. Peck will work alongside Michael Goldsmith, a managing director and co-founder of Highland Park, Ill.-based AEG Partners. AEG Investors has been in existence for the last year. Peck was brought on to focus on the day-to-day operations.

Quintiles Transnational Corp.'s industry-wide risks and rising operating risks make the high leverage following the proposed management buyout of the company a central concern, said Michael Levesque, analyst for Moody's Investors Service. Moody's rated the $390 million credit, which backs Pharma Services Holdings' buyout of the pharmaceutical research and marketing firm for $1.7 billion, at B1. Quintiles contract research organization (CRO) business has also met slower and more volatile top line growth rates due to uneven research and development spending following patent expirations and other issues facing the large pharmaceutical companies that Quintiles serves, Moody's states. Levesque cited that Quintiles' CRO business' growth rates for accrued revenue declined from 8.6% in 2001 to 3.4% in 2002.

Ramius Capital Group's par loan group is looking to invest in more on-the-run, publicly-rated, liquid par loan term debt. Since its inception last year, the firm's par loan group has focused on illiquid, unrated, middle-market loans. But Neil Rothenberg, a managing director and portfolio manager of the par loan group, explained that Ramius is a relative-value loan buyer and at this point in time the risk/reward package offered in the liquid loan market is the best opportunity.

Scotia Capital last Monday launched syndication of a $150 million credit for global positioning systems (GPS) provider Trimble Navigation Limited. The deal will take out the company's existing debt. The new credit is priced off a grid based on debt-to-cash flow, said a banker familiar with the deal, explaining that the company's current debt-to-cash flow level of two times puts the rate at LIBOR plus 13/4%. The credit includes a $100 million, three-year revolver with a 3/8% incentive on the unused amount. The facility also includes a four-year, $50 million amortizing term loan, the banker noted. A Scotia official declined to comment.

Ultra Petroleum Corp. raised the borrowing base on its senior secured revolver to $155 million after the company demonstrated to its lenders that the value of its assets had improved. The natural gas reserve exploration and production company has a semi-annual borrowing base review as part of its bank agreement, said Fox Benton, cfo, explaining that since there was an increase in Ultra Petroleum's reserves, the credit could be increased. "We drilled more wells, so we could increase the borrowing base," he said. The revolver was for $120 million before the most recent increase, but the company began with a facility for $18 million in 2000. Benton explained that the deal has since been incrementally augmented as assets have grown.

Xerox Corp. is finally in the market with a $1 billion refinancing credit after rumors that the company was staking out a deal circled the market since April (LMW, 4/21). The credit is part of the Stamford, Conn.-based company's $3.1 billion recapitalization strategy, announced last week. Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Merrill Lynch and UBS Warburg lead the deal that includes a $700 million revolver and a $300 million term loan. A banker familiar with the credit said the deal was out to managing agents as of late last week and should be hitting retail investors in the near future. A Xerox filing said the new deal's pricing would range from LIBOR plus 13/4-3%, depending on leverage. The company's existing deal is priced in the LIBOR plus 4-41/2% range.

ASIA

The growing confidence in Asia's equity markets helped this week's issuers achieve unexpectedly attractive funding terms.