Search results for

Duke Street Capital this week launched an extra Eu250m of notes from the Duchess managed collateralised debt obligation it launched last June. Lead managed by CIBC World Markets, the deal is believed to be the first example of a tap in the European CDO sector. A second CDO fund, Prime Edge Capital managed by Capital Dynamics, is also expected to be tapped later this year via Deutsche Bank.

Volkswagen Leasing GmbH this week launched its fifth securitisation of German car leases in a Eu1bn deal via ABN Amro, its largest to date. Volkswagen Car Lease No5 offered two tranches of floating rate notes rated triple-A and A+/A1 by Moody's and Standard & Poor's and with a legal maturity of November 2005. The Eu950m triple-A tranche with an average life of 1.25 years came at 12.5bp over one month Euribor (see International Bond Issues for further details). The notes were priced wider than ABN Amro and Deutsche Bank's VCL3 in 1999, but tighter than VCL4 lead managed by Credit Suisse First Boston and Deutsche last year.

Sequa, a diversified manufacturing and technology company, has cancelled its $75 million revolver ahead of the October 2002 maturity and is now seeking a new facility. The J.P. Morgan-led credit was terminated because Sequa did not expect to be in compliance with certain financial covenants of the revolver, said Linda Kyriakou, spokeswoman for Sequa. Kyriakou declined to comment on the level of borrowings on the revolver at time of cancellation.

Toronto Dominion is said to be leading a $200 million credit backing Spectrum Equity's $345 million acquisition of Broadwing's Cincinnati Bell Directory business. Bankers at TD did not return calls and timing and pricing could not be determined. The company being formed by Spectrum for the directory business is called CBD Media. Calls to Randy Henderson, cfo of Spectrum in California, were not returned. Spectrum is the latest phone directories business dialing up the loan market, following the Yell Group's acquisition of McLeod USA's telephone directories business last month. CIBC World Markets is set to launch syndication of that credit (LMW, 1/21).

Tesoro Petroleum will return to the bank market for financing to back the $945 million acquisition of the Golden Eagle refinery from Valero Energy. Tesoro will also purchase the value of inventory, estimated to be $130 million. Lehman Brothers is said to be leading the financing, which will result in $375 million in term loans, a $70 million revolver, $450 million of subordinated debt and an up to $250 million equity component. The financing will be done "as soon as possible," said a banker, unable to provide more precise timing. Bankers at Lehman and Tesoro officials did not return calls.

IHS Healthcare Group dove to 51 from 63 this week following fears that long-term care is no longer a high priority on the congressional fiscal agenda. By Wednesday, $50 to $75 million had traded on IHS and traders pointed to the whole sector as one to watch as it may quickly fall from grace.

Tyco International and its lending subsidiary Tyco Capital/CIT Group drew down bank credit lines after exiting the commercial paper market, to make the international conglomerate less susceptible to rumors in the financial markets. "The drawing down on the bank lines makes us [Tyco] less susceptible to various market rumors, including those that say we have liquidity issues, which if left to grow could become a self-fulfilling prophecy," said Dennis Kozlowski, Tyco's chairman and ceo in a conference call to reassure analysts.

Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse First Boston last week launched syndication of a refinancing deal for Graphic Packaging International. The $450 million bank deal consists of a $300 million, five-year revolver and a $150 million six-year "B" term loan. Pricing on the revolver is LIBOR plus 2% with a 1/2% commitment fee, and LIBOR plus 3% on the institutional tranche. Golden, Colo.-based GPI is also offering $250 million in subordinated notes. The credit refinances a $325 million, five-year term loan and a $400 million revolver. Bank of America is the agent on the existing lines. Questions to CFO Luis Leon were referred to Paddy Broughton who declined to comment.

Goldman Sachs has hired H.C. Liu, Asian head of equity derivatives (ex-Japan) at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in Hong Kong, in a new position as director of equity derivatives sales in Hong Kong, according to David Voon, managing director and head of equity derivatives in Hong Kong. Voon declined further comment and Liu, who started two weeks ago, declined comment.

Italian construction company Astaldi is planning to enter an interest-rate swap to convert the euro proceeds from a recent fixed-rate bond offering into a floating-rate liability. Giorgio Bianchini, head of finance in Rome, said the company is likely to convert a portion of the EUR150 million (USD132 million) deal, which was priced earlier this month, into floating. He said the company will leave between a third and half of the EUR150 million issue in fixed-rate.