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Carbon compound and forest products producer Koppers completed a $175 million refinancing deal, adding five new lenders in the process. The new syndicate members were added to the facility after bankers from Mellon Bank--a lead arranger on the previous deal--joined new institutions, but kept in touch with the company, said Donald Davis, v.p. and cfo of Koppers. "More than half [of the lenders] were new, but all have bankers at their institutions that know the company," he stated. He did not name the new lenders. The new leads are PNC Bank and National City Bank. "We selected them because they understand the regional needs of our company," he said. Pittsburgh-based Koppers was looking for good pricing and a strong relationship, Davis added.

GE Structured Finance and affiliates of Oak Hill Advisors have won the lead roles on the new $195 million credit for SBA Communications Corp.'s SBA Telecommunications subsidiary. The new facility replaces the company's $300 million credit led by Lehman Brothers and Barclays Capital. "Their offer was more appealing to us," said Pamela Kline, v.p. of capital markets at SBA, of the switch to GE and Oak Hill. Kline declined to elaborate on what provisions set the new leads apart. Spokeswomen for Lehman and Barclays declined comment.

Regal Entertainment Group's $315 million term loan "D" was heavily oversubscribed, only days after launching into syndication last Tuesday. One buysider said the deal had $900 million in commitments by the end of last week and that pricing had been flexed downwards 25 basis points to LIBOR plus 21/2%. The deal is part of a recapitalization that will provide investors in its 2002 reorganization a special dividend of between $600-625 million without selling stock. Colorado billionaire Philip Anschutz owns about 77% percent of Regal's voting stock. Knoxville, Tennessee-based Regal also indicated it is selling $200 million in convertible notes and could sell up to $40 million more after heavy demand.

More than 120 traders and investors turned out for Loan Market Week's Best Trading Desk Awards ceremony at the New York Palace Hotel on May 15. In addition to the 14 awards that were handed out, war stories and industry gossip were traded until the crowd was cast out by Palace staff and moved the party to another local watering hole. The following photos were taken by Maya Hayuk and Institutional Investor News' Rozalind Dineen. For a full writeup of the awards, see last week's special supplement or go to http://www.loanmarketweek.com/.

Bank One has won the lead role on Churchill Downs' new $200 million revolving credit facility over the incumbent PNC Bank. The company sought bids for the new facility on a competitive basis, said Michael Miller, cfo of Churchill Downs, explaining the switch. Miller declined to elaborate on Bank One's proposal. But he commented that the company looks for its lead bank to be an aggressive agent, seeking the best pricing and covenant flexibility. PNC still participates on the deal as letter of credit issuer and syndication agent. "We still have a great relationship with the company and still play a material role with the company's banking needs," said a PNC spokesman.

Lyon Capital Management, an arm of Credit Lyonnais that manages loan assets in structured vehicles, has raised the debt for its first $325 million cash-flow arbitrage collateralized loan obligation called LCM Limited Partnership I. Goldman Sachs and Credit Lyonnais are joint underwriters for the cash-flow arbitrage vehicle, said a source. Officials at Lyon referred calls to a Goldman Sachs banker, who did not return calls. The spread on the $201.5 million triple-A tranche is LIBOR plus 55 basis points. The $30 million triple-B is LIBOR plus 350 basis points and the equity piece is $30 million.

The AAA notes of Callidus Capital Management's first collateralized loan obligation will be wrapped by AMBAC Asset Assurance. The move is significant because insurers such as AMBAC, MBIA and Financial Security Assurance (FSA) have until recently put a freeze on wrapping CDO tranches and now appear to be dipping their toes back into the market. Ares Management also took a wrap from FSA on its latest deal, Ares VII CLO, which priced last month. "We are participating more selectively in the market," said Betsy Castenir, FSA's spokeswoman. She could not provide figures for activity and spokespeople at AMBAC and MBIA did not return calls. Officials at Callidus declined comment and Ares portfolio managers did not return calls. Wachovia Securities is preparing to price the notes for the Callidus deal next month.

The Shared National Credit exams are underway but analysts and traders expect there to be less credit deterioration compared to previous years, putting less pressure on banks to sell off their non-performing assets. A direct link between SNC exams and trading in the secondary market is tenuous, but there were at least some big trades last year attributed to the SNC process. "Banks do sell when their [non-performing assets] are skyrocketing," one trader noted. But one dealer said banks were not as pressured in today's environment and that it was more of an issue last year.

Massey Energy Company held a bank meeting last Wednesday in New York to launch syndication of a $450 million credit facility that will refinance existing debt. Citigroup, UBS Warburg and PNC Bank are the lead arrangers for the Richmond, Va.-based coal company, according to bankers familiar with the situation. Massey extended one of its existing revolvers last November for a year, as difficult market conditions prevented the company from completing a refinancing earlier, said Katharine Kenny, director of investor relations. The credit lines, led by PNC and Citi, were set to expire this November and so Massey did not want to wait any longer, she added.

Owens Corning's bank debt has been volatile over the last couple of weeks, propped up by reports that a bill providing for a universal asbestos trust is on the way and pressured by its bankruptcy proceedings and a large seller of paper. After sinking to the 50 level early this month due to market expectations that the bankruptcy judge will make a ruling that could threaten bank debt holders' recovery, Owens Corning soared back up to the 60 level as news concerning a universal asbestos trust disseminated through the market. Then early last week, the market for Owens Corning's bank debt slumped once more into the 551/2 571/2 range as a major dealer was believed to be paring its exposure to the name. Levels rose back into the 571/2 59 range once more as the introduction of the bill neared.

Financial sponsors are increasingly turning to the loan and bond markets to take dividends through recapitalizations as traditional routes for realizing equity returns remain limited. A liquid high-yield market is making recaps more attractive and feasible than trying to cash out in a spotty equity market, bankers and investors said, and limited partners are pushing for returns. "For many private equity firms there is a heightened awareness that limited partner investors are looking for a return on capital and a recapitalization is a means in which to achieve that objective," stated Michael Wong, a v.p. at Leonard Green & Partners.

UbiquiTel's bank debt was stronger last week, quoted wide in the 70-75 range. Two weeks ago the name had been quoted with wide bid/ask spreads in the 60s, according to LoanX. No trades could be confirmed. UbiquiTel is a Sprint PCS Group affiliate and all the affiliates are for the most part illiquid, noted one trader. The company recently achieved its first quarter of positive EBITDA, clocking in at $100,000. The reason for the tick up in the credit could not be determined, but in general wireless names have been inching up over the past month.