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Harrah's Entertainment has received a new $1.963 billion, five-year credit, pushing out its bank loan maturities five years. "It extends the maturity and gives assurance that the funds will be available when we need them," said Charles Atwood, Harrah's senior v.p., cfo and treasurer. Banks are no longer interested in 364-day facilities, he added, explaining that the market is leaning toward longer credits.

HSBC plans to integrate its credit-default swap desk into its newly merged bond and loan trading operation and will likely start purchasing protection for its secondary loans portfolio as a result. The bank is running a pilot scheme under which the profit and loss from the plain-vanilla credit-default swap book is consolidated into the credit book, which includes eurobonds and secondary loans, according to Clive Stevens, who will be co-heading the group with Mark Everett. The integration has been planned to give investors access to greater liquidity and also to better manage the firm's credit risk, Stevens added. Previously Stevens and Everett were heads of credit trading, but for only the cash bond business.

Syndication of pizza delivery franchise Domino's new $685 million secured credit launched last week and received strong investor reception, according to market players. An exact subscription level could not be ascertained. The deal, led by J.P. Morgan, includes a six-year, $125 million revolver and a seven-year, $560 million term loan, and is priced in the LIBOR plus 31/4% range. A $450 million note deal also backs the recapitalization plans.

Mary Kay's corporate credit and senior secured credit rating was raised from BB- to BB by Standard & Poor's on account of the cosmetics firm's improved operating performance and financial profile. The Dallas-based company has reduced debt and increased revenues through consistently increasing the number of active sales consultants over the past few years, S&P states. Productivity per each consultant also improved in 2002 after years of decline. This indicates an improved product mix and successful sales initiatives, S&P notes.

Merrill Lynch has hired Greg Margolies, an ex-employee of The Carlyle Group, indicating the firm may be moving back up the leveraged finance ladder. Jack Mann, global head of leveraged finance origination, has brought Margolies back to Merrill, where he was a banker before moving to Carlyle. Margolies, who was most recently at DB Capital Partners, will focus on corporates, financial sponsors and to some extent distressed debt bond investors, said a Merrill spokesman. He declined to elaborate on the role. One source said he was going to cover vulture firms and hedge funds that are taking control of companies. Calls to Margolies and Mann were not returned.

Colfax Corp.'s $315 million credit was slightly tweaked before wrapping up late last week. The second lien "C" term loan was increased by $5 million to $45 million, while the six-year "B" loan was decreased by $5 million to $220 million, according to a banker. Merrill Lynch leads the credit, which backs the pump and power transmission product maker's acquisition of Germany-based pump producer Netzsch Group for $113.4 million. The banker added that the modest increase in the "C" piece reflected higher demand for the LIBOR plus 61/4% priced loan. Call protection at 103 and 1011/2 was also added in years one and two, he noted. The "B" loan priced at LIBOR plus 33/4% and the "B" loan amortization schedule was also augmented, the banker stated.

Displeasure with Mirant Corp.'s current restructuring plan sent the company's bank debt down into the mid 60s to 70 range. The bank debt had been trading in the 83-85 context in mid May. Traders said pieces of the company's $1.125 billion revolver maturing in July, its $450 million revolver maturing in April 2004, and its $1.125 billion revolver maturing in July 2005 traded actively last week.

Vivendi Universal Entertainment (VUE) had about $1.5 billion in tickets on its $950 million term loan last week. It was too soon to determine if the size of the credit would be increased or if the LIBOR plus 31/2% coupon would flex down, said a banker familiar with the deal. J.P. Morgan, Bank of America and Barclays Bank lead the facility, which backs the Los Angeles-based arm of parent Vivendi Universal's (VU) plans to refinance the remainder of a bridge facility. An investor noted that the deal has a provision to increase the loan by another $500 million. J.P. Morgan and B of A officials declined to comment, while a Barclays banker could not be reached by press time.

Michael Wamp, a director and loan salesman at UBS Warburg, left the firm last week. Wamp reported to Brendan Dillon, managing director and head of secondary par loan sales. The reason for Wamp's departure could not be determined. UBS has recently been making additions to its loan team, bringing on Eric Coombs from Morgan Stanley for the loan syndications group and Kevin Latimer from Deutsche Bank for its loan sales desk (LMW, 3/24, 3/17). Officials at UBS could not be reached and a spokesman declined to comment.

Alliance Pipeline has completed a pair of credits--a $125 million U.S. credit and a C$490 million facility--with different lead arrangers heading up each facility, said Paul Belliveau, v.p. of finance and cfo. "We wanted to negotiate on both sides of the border simultaneously," he explained.

The three lead banks on Qwest Corp.'s term loan increased the deal to $1.75 billion from $1 billion last week and carved out a $500 million fixed-rate tranche after a horde of traditional and non-traditional investors swarmed into the credit. Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse First Boston and Deutsche Bank received more than $3 billion in commitments, according to a banker familiar with the deal. The four-year term loan, now at $1.25 billion, is priced at LIBOR plus 43/4% with a LIBOR floor of 13/4% and an original issue discount of 99, said the banker. The seven-year, fixed-rate piece has a yield to maturity of 7-71/4%, he added.

Owens Corning was volatile last week as paper was said to have traded at 55 before shooting up to the 561/2 58 context. Traders said a rumor that bank debt lenders would receive a recovery of 60-70 cents on the dollar through a settlement plan circulated through the market. Owens Corning is pursing a settlement after the bankruptcy judge indicated she would prefer the company reach an agreement with its creditors rather than make a ruling on the issue of substantive consolidation, said a source close to the case. Substantive consolidation threatens lenders' subsidiary guarantees. A company spokesman could not comment on settlement negotiations.