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Workflow Management is talking to third parties looking to help it deal with a $50 million "B" loan due this December that the company does not think it can repay. The printing company has been contacted by entities such as private equity firms and various funds, responding to the maturing "B" loan, said Michael Schmickle, executive v.p., cfo and secretary of Workflow. "We are proactively trying to extinguish the $50 million term note," Schmickle said. "There's no one that we are excluding," he added, noting that Workflow is open to any potential savior that can help the company. "We would consider all alternatives," including new banks, he further added.

The value of public information is improving and the quality of private information is declining, but access to private information remains very valuable when a company's performance is waning, noted Payson Swaffield, v.p. of Eaton Vance and co-director of its bank loan funds. "As companies become more stressed they have very valuable information," he said. Swaffield noted that he used to receive monthly financials from companies, but now often receives only quarterlies.

The $1.15 billion credit backing Medco Health Solutions' spin off from parent Merck & Co. received a warm pro-rata reception last week. Lenders did not hesitate to grab a piece of the new money, oversubscribing to the "A" loan and revolver pieces, according to a banker familiar with the deal. J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup are leading the credit.

Credit Agricole Indosuez has closed down its merchant banking operations and let go 13 bankers, according to Corporate Financing Week, an LMW sister publication. The firm merged earlier this month with Credit Lyonnais and the decision to exit the business was done because it was a localized business and did not fit with the company's global banking strategy, said Michael Walsh, general counsel for Credit Agricole Indosuez in the U.S. The bank plans to keep Indosuez's collateralized debt obligation business in place, said Walsh.

Credit Suisse First Boston and Deutsche Bank have launched syndication of a $575 million "C" term loan for specialty chemical maker Noveon. The six-year credit is to refinance existing debt and price talk is in the LIBOR plus 23/4-3% range. Noveon reported $865.9 million in total debt as of last March, with $499 million outstanding on its "B" loan and $73 million outstanding on its "A" loan. Bankers at CSFB and Deutsche Bank did not return calls before press time.

A $1.1 billion refinancing for dialysis company DaVita hit the market last week. The deal, led by Credit Suisse First Boston, includes a six-year, $842 million "C" loan priced at LIBOR plus 21/2%. There is also a four-year pro rata component that includes a $144 million "A" loan and a $115 million revolver priced at LIBOR plus 21/4%. There is a 50 basis point up-front fee on the revolver. A CSFB banker did not return calls and an official at DaVita could not be reached by press time.

Deutsche Bank's par loan desk has been making some personnel changes and is retooling part of its sales effort to focus on banks. The firm recently moved Michael Curry and Kevin Dooley, both v.p.s and desk analysts on the par loan desk, to the par loan sales team. The duo filled the open slots left when Kevin Latimer, a former director in loan sales, jumped to UBS Warburg in March and Dan Hagerman, a managing director in the firm's senior debt capital markets group, took a leave of absence about a month ago. Curry will focus on institutional clients and Dooley will focus exclusively on banks. Daniel Toscano, managing director and head of senior debt capital markets, said now that Deutsche Bank is focused on the needs of commercial banks, this will allow its relationships with these clients to be multifaceted. He said the change in strategy is part of the firm's overall commitment to the market and the asset class, of which banks are still an integral part.

The growing number and diversity of institutional investors in the loan market today are two central factors reflecting how the market has changed from five years ago. Investor composition has changed considerably due to the influx of collateralized debt obligations entering the buyside pool, said Peter Nolan, managing director in North American credit markets at J.P. Morgan. CDOs have surged into the loan market, comprising 26% of investors compared to just 9% in 1998, Nolan explained. The number of investors has also more than doubled with about 287 now compared to 122 in 1998, he added.

Korea Highway steered its $500m 10 year debut global bond gingerly to market yesterday (Thursday), in a climate of negative investor sentiment toward Korean bonds.

The recent consolidation craze engulfing Australia's property trust market has begun to generate new bond issues.

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