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The seven-year $730 million "B" loan for Flowserve has been well oversubscribed with over $1.25 billion in commitments received. The credit, led by Credit Suisse First Boston and Bank of America, will likely trade up once it breaks for trading, said one banker eyeing the deal. He also said a 1/4% flex down in pricing could be possible before closing. The "B" tranche, which backs the acquisition of Invensys' valve division, carries a LIBOR plus 31/ 4% spread. Sean Clancey, a spokesman for Flowserve did not return calls. CSFB is the syndication agent and B of A is administration agent on the deal. Flowserve expects to make cost savings of up to $15 million a year from the acquisition (LMW, 3/31).

Global Industries, a provider of pipeline construction, platform installation and diving services to the oil and gas industry, is conducting a stock offering worth approximately $72 million to comply with bank loan covenants. In exchange, the bank group, led by BANK ONE, will pony up a $45 million, 364-day credit facility to provide extra liquidity, explained William J. Dore, v.p., director of investor relations for Global. The proceeds of the offering will repay a $51 million term loan, he said, as a net worth covenant in the banking agreement stipulated debt had to be below a certain level. Furthermore, the credit facility amended in November last year and again last month, reduces permitted capital expenditure to $35 million.

Associated Materials' "B" loan has been almost two-and-a-half times oversubscribed after receiving Ba3/BB- ratings from the agencies. A banker described the rating news as above expectations. The credit is led by UBS Warburg,Credit Suisse First Boston and CIBC World Markets. Harvest/ AMI Holdings, a newly formed company from New York-based leveraged buyout shop Harvest Partners, is the sponsor for the deal. The credit is 40% underwritten by UBS, 40% by CSFB and 20% by CIBC. The $165 million credit is split between a $40 million, five-year revolver and a $125 million seven-year "B" term loan.

Trading was mixed last week as the market focused on a heavy forward calendar, which traders estimate at $3 billion. Allied Waste Industriesand Echostar Communications each rose half a point. Below is some of the other notable action.

Tim Hartshorn has joined HSBC Securities as a senior investment-grade trader, reporting to Ferdinand Masucci, managing director, corporate bond trading. Hartshorn last worked as a v.p. trading yankee bonds at Salomon Smith Barney, reporting to Ted Seelye, managing director. Hartshorn referred calls to Masucci and John Griff, ceo of HSBC's U.S. operations. Masuchi was traveling and could not be reached, and Griff did not return calls. HSBC's reason for hiring Hartshorn, who will trade U.S. financial credits, could not be determined.

IDACORP has refinanced and aligned maturities on a total of $710 million in credit facilities held by the parent company and its Idaho Power subsidiary. The new deal cuts the size of the three-year credit by $20 million and gives the company flexibility in determining what it needs in 364-day lines, said Darrel Anderson, v.p., cfo and treasurer. "We believe from a cost perspective it gives us the flexibility to reassess our needs," he said of the refinancing. "We didn't feel we needed to carry $500 million on a three-year level."

Bear Stearns has tapped Michael Hyland, director of global high-yield research, to lead the U.S. investment-grade research group as well, according to Russell Sherman, a firm spokesman. The move comes as Bear Stearns works to fill voids created after Marion Boucher Soper, the former head of investment-grade research, led a team of analysts to Deutsche Bank last month (BW, 3/13).

As much as $50 million of Global Crossing's bank debt is believed to have traded as high as 22-23 last week following reports of the accidental release of a list of possible bidders for the bankrupt telecom. Investors now believe that there is more interest in the name, one trader explained, adding, "The more bidders the better." An employee at the law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges is believed to have e-mailed a list of the bidders, which include companies such as Verizon Communications, the BT Group, and financial firms such as Credit Suisse First Boston, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, and Quadrangle Group, with information about the bidding procedure. A spokesman for the company declined to comment. The deadline for the submission of qualified bids is June 20.

Market timing and secondary market demand were key factors in Iron Mountain's $250 million refinancing, enabling the record management company to trim the spread by 1/2% on a new $250 million "B" loan. Iron Mountain was closely watching the bank and bond markets, and the pricing was inconsistent with the trading on the name, remarked Iron Mountain treasurer John Lawrence. The old paper, which matured in 2006 and carried a LIBOR plus 23/ 4% spread, was trading at 101 1/2, he said. "We did two major bond financings last year and these were well oversubscribed," he added. There is a lot of overlap between the bond and bank investors and looking at what is going on in the "B" market we expected good appetite," Lawrence noted.

Pricing on Calpine's $600 million "B" term-loan has been upped to LIBOR plus 33/ 4% after investors balked at the proposed LIBOR plus 23/ 4% spread. The loan has still not been launched, but pre-syndication efforts revealed investors are nervous about committing funds to the energy company, said bankers. The loan also had its original launch date postponed as the banks awaited further information (LMW, 4/8). A lack of familiarity with the name and a downgrade from Moody's Investors Service are two issues putting pressure on the coupon, bankers and investors said. Also, investors are not very familiar with the company and are looking to the bonds, which are trading in the 80s, one banker said. Credit Suisse First Boston, Salomon Smith Barney and Deutsche Bank have underwritten the two-year institutional tranche, which is part of a $2 billion financing package for the company.

CIBC World Markets' Isle of Capri "B" tranche has been wildly oversubscribed, leading to an expected 1/4% reverse flex in pricing. The $250 million "B" for the gaming company is four times oversubscribed, enabling pricing to be cut to LIBOR plus 21/ 2%, said a banker following the deal. The $250 million, six-year revolver is still in the market with commitments due by April 18, but this is well on its way, he said. The credit was attractive for a number of reasons, including the resilience of the gaming sector as well as good operating performance (LMW, 3/31).

Credit Lyonnais is establishing a multi billion-dollar fund that will invest in the high-yield, investment-grade and credit-derivatives markets in the U.S. and Europe. As reported last week on www.bondweek.com, the bank, which does not currently have a significant presence in those areas in the U.S., has hired three investment-grade traders from Deutsche Bank and a senior credit derivatives salesman from Merrill Lynch to manage the fund, according to fixed-income officials with knowledge of the group's plans. The fund, which will launch in May, will start with at least $5 billion dollars to build a global investment platform across all credit products, and will include trading desks in New York and London. The group will report to Omar Abukhadra, global head of credit markets and credit derivatives. He could not be reached. Once the group is in place, it is expected that additional senior hires, including analysts, will be made.