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Bank of America pitched a $325 million credit last week for the second largest North American funeral home and cemetery operator, Alderwoods Group. The credit includes a five-year, $275 million "B" loan priced in the LIBOR plus 31/2-33/4% range and a five-year, $50 million revolver, according to Kenneth Sloan, executive v.p. and cfo. Sloan said B of A received positive verbal commitments to the deal both before and coming out of the July 30 meeting. Proceeds from the deal will be used to repay existing debt for Alderwoods and Rose Hills--the Cincinnati-based company's largest subsidiary.

Venture Holdings Company's bank debt is said to have ticked up roughly eight points into the 70-72 range over the last two weeks as bondholders began to buy bank debt claims. Traders said the bondholders are expecting to get a minimal recovery when the company emerges from bankruptcy and are therefore trying to hedge their bets. The identities of the bondholders purchasing the bank debt could not be determined. An attorney involved in the case declined to comment on the progress of the reorganization negotiations. Earlier in July, the bank debt fell out of the 70s range and traded as low as the 62 context with market players suggesting the dip was caused by creditor wrangling.

Calpine Corp.'s recently completed $750 million, four-year term loan traded down into the low 90s last week. Buysiders and dealers said the size of the deal contributed to the pressure on the name. "There's no demand for the paper. Who is going to buy it?" one buysider commented, noting that many accounts are already full of the name. Traders said the second-lien loan was volatile and closely followed the bonds, which were also softer last week. One dealer said paper traded at 931/4 in the Street on Thursday, but another said markets for the paper ranged from the 91 911/2 level to the 93 931/2 context. Calls to Rick Barraza, senior v.p. of investor relations for Calpine, were not returned by press time.

Scotia Capital and Credit Suisse First Boston were wrapping up a refinancing credit for Weight Watchers International (WWI) late last week, with more than $1 billion in tickets committed to the term loan. A banker familiar with the deal explained that the loan could be for a maximum of $463 million, depending on how much of the Woodbury, N.Y.-based weight loss company's bonds are tendered. CSFB and Merrill Lynch are dealer managers and solicitation agents for WWI's current cash tender offer and consent solicitation for all of its $150 million outstanding principal amount of 13% senior subordinated notes due 2009 and all of its E100 million outstanding principal amount of 13% senior subordinated notes, also due 2009. The six-and-a-half-year loan is priced at LIBOR plus 21/4%, the banker added.

Edison Mission Midwest Holdings' loan was the talk of the secondary market last week after pieces of the company's credit traded out of the 90s into the 87 - 871/2 context following a bank meeting two weeks ago. A piece slightly less than $10 million was said to have traded in that range on Tuesday and a similarly sized piece traded in that context two weeks ago this Friday. One trader noted that the company's 10% bonds maturing in 2008 also fell out of bed, trading down to the 75 range from the 93-95 context. The details of the bank meeting could not be determined, but there are rumors that a number of banks are looking to sell, which reminds investors of the Mirant Corp. situation, market players noted. But whether or not commercial banks are ready to bail out of the name is in question, one trader suggested.

Credit Suisse First Boston is said to be looking to hire an analyst for its global leverage finance strategy group. The group, headed by Sam Derosa-Farag has tapped The Succession Group to lead the search, said a source. Derosa-Farag did not return calls and an official at The Succession Group declined comment.

Infinity Property & Casualty Corp. has tapped the market for a $200 million term loan, taking the opportunity to secure low interest rates, explained Roger Smith, Infinity's senior v.p. and cfo. "Timing is everything," he said, noting that the loan market is "hot for paper." Initially, Birmingham, Ala.-based Infinity had planned to complete a $180 million note offering in February, but the company ultimately withdrew the deal due to unfavorable market conditions. Smith said Infinity decided to tap the loan market this time around due to the reasonable pricing--the term loan carries a spread of 21/2% over LIBOR--as well as the high probability of getting the deal completed.

Bank of America had to sweeten a $400 million "B" loan for Pegasus Media & Communications last week, with market players citing Pegasus' litigation issues with DIRECTV and satellite network rights as concerns. One investor said more accounts moved in to fill out the deal late last week. Officials from B of A declined to comment or confirm subscription levels. Joe Pooler, Pegasus' v.p. of finance and controller, also declined to comment.

Kaydon Corp. invited Bank of America to join the company's new $200 million credit facility after the bank had approached Kaydon with some non-credit related ideas, said Peter DeChants, v.p. of corporate development and treasurer. DeChants said a B of A relationship manager had been out to visit the company several times, establishing "a very effective calling program" with the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based company. He did not specify the business ideas discussed with B of A. Kaydon is a designer and manufacturer of custom-engineered products for customers in the industrial, aerospace, medical and electronic equipment and aftermarket spaces.

Lord Capital Partners, an affiliate of Lord Securities, is raising capital for a novel alternative investment fund that will invest in notes issued by special purpose entities (SPEs). The fund, Lord Capital Partners, will invest $100-150 million in expected loss notes, a new type of security to be issued by commercial paper conduits based on the equity or first-loss piece of their capital structure, said a Lord Capital official. The issuance is expected because of new accounting definitions proscribed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board. Ben Abedine, cfo at Lord Securities, said only the firm was working on the fund. He referred calls to Craig Shallcross, a partner at the firm who manages the fund, who declined to comment.

The dealer-based mark-to-market system is becoming more exact and is providing a fairly accurate picture of the secondary loan market, according to a trade data study conducted by The Loan Syndications and Trading Association. Trade data is hard to come by due to the private nature of the loan market, but the growth of the market has made an efficient mark-to-market system a necessity. "The loan business now has many participants who mark to market. Since most auditors and trustees require accurate, reliable, independent marks, availability of this data is critical to the development of the asset class," said Jonathan Calder, head of loan sales and trading at Citigroup and LSTA board member.

GE Capital and Lehman Brothers launched syndication last week of a $270 million recapitalization credit for subsidiaries of mattress and pillow manufacturer Tempur World Holdings. The credit includes a $20 million, five-year revolver; a $30 million five-year "A" loan and a $135 million, six-year "B" piece. Lexington, Ky.-based Tempur is also doing a $150 million senior subordinated notes deal in conjunction with the recapitalization. Price talk on the "B" loan is in the LIBOR plus 31/2% range, according to a banker familiar with the deal. The facility also includes a five-year, $20 million revolver and a $65 million "B" loan for European borrowers. A GE official declined to comment and Lehman bankers did not return calls.