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The bank debt of Exide Technologies has dropped 20 points over the last two weeks on news of the need for covenant relief. In a series of small trades, the credit has dropped from the low 80s in mid-October to the low-60s as of late last week. Dealers estimate the trades were made in $5 million chunks and totaled between $10-20 million, but buyers and sellers could not be determined.

Fleet Capital last week wrapped up a $200 million refinancing for Weirton Steel. Fleet is the agent and Foothill Capital is syndication agent. Phil Margolis, spokesman for Fleet, said CIT Group and GMAC Business Credit are the co-documentation agents for the facility, while Transamerica Business Capital is a lender. The three-year, asset-based facility is priced at LIBOR plus 3 1Ž4 %, and replaces a $100 million revolver led by Bank of America, according to Capital DATA Loanware. Margolis was unable to confirm that Weirton switched lenders and calls to Rick Garan, assistant treasurer were not returned. The asset-based facility enables Weirton to more effectively borrow against accounts receivable and inventory, attaining additional availability, and enabling a restructuring plan, explained Margolis.

Harris Nesbitt is ramping up its asset-based lending capabilities by extending its branch network with the opening of an office in Los Angeles and is eyeing offices in New York and Boston. Kevin Delaplane, senior v.p., and managing director, said the asset-based lending operation is a national business and Harris wants to put people on the ground to supplement relationships. "This is a growth business for Harris, with 20-30% expansion in the last two years," Delaplane added, noting Harris expects to continue at this level of increase, though he could not provide figures for a balance sheet increase. There is no timeframe for the further rollout and no specific numbers for the amount of people targeted, he said. Offices have also been opened in Detroit and Atlanta, as part of the national rollout program.

A successful business model and a positive historical performance of Province Healthcare bodes well for the company's $200 million revolver being arranged by Wachovia Bank. Russell Pomerantz, v.p., senior analyst at Moody's Investors Service, additionally noted the health care sector is a relative safe haven amid recent market turmoil and the positive factors that supported the sector pre-Sept.11, have not gone away. The $200 million credit has been assigned a Ba3 rating by Moody's. Moody's has also given $150 million senior subordinated notes a B3 rating and a $50 million secured end loaded lease financing a Ba3 rating.

Mike Cassidy, a senior high-yield trader, has joined Stanfield Capital as a v.p. of fixed-income trading. He joins from OppenheimerFunds, where he was an assistant V.P on the high-yield trading desk. Cassidy says he made the move because the position at Stanfield will give him an opportunity to work with structured products, including collateralized debt and loan obligations, which he did not have at Oppenheimer. It could not be determined whether Cassidy is filling a new or previously vacant position. He reports to Dan Baldwin, a partner at Stanfield, a New York firm managing some $5 billion in taxable fixed income. Baldwin did not return calls.

J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank's credit for Apollo Management's acquisition of IMC Global's salt business was warmly received in the market last week. According to bankers, the deal contains a $275 million, eight-year term loan "B" and a $135 million revolver. The revolver is not likely to be fully syndicated, but will be club-style, among J.P. Morgan, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse First Boston and two other institutions, said a banker. It could not be ascertained if the two banks have already been brought on board. Calls to the J.P. Morgan officials involved were not returned. The term loan was originally expected to be slightly higher, but there was more cash on the balance sheet of the acquired company than was thought. Calls to Steven Anreder, a spokesman for Apollo, were not returned by press time.

Decorative Concepts, a home decor products company controlled by private equity firm Fenway Partners, tapped Deutsche Bank to lead a $100 million asset-based facility, after hiring Peter J. Solomon to solicit bids and advise on the financing arrangements. The deal also includes a $30 million senior subordinated debt offering with warrants. PJS acted as the advisor and sole placement agent.

Paper for Lyondell traded up to 94 1/4 early last week, which is up from the 93 range at the end of September. Dealers said the chemical sector, which had been struggling prior to the Sept. 11 attacks, was directly impacted by the terrorist event. "Lyondell was a par name before Sept. 11," a dealer explained. "Chemical names have just been beat up so bad." Dealers say chemical names are directly linked to the strength of the economy. They say even the connotation of chemicals, especially in war time, is viewed negatively and pushes down levels. "Everybody's got chemicals on their brain right now. In that way, you'd think [chemical credits] would get stronger," a dealer remarked. Lyondell, based in Houston, manufactures polymers and petrochemicals. Calls to Robert Blakely, cfo, were forwarded to an automatic answering service that refused unsolicited calls. Messages to the company were not returned.

Dallas-based Belo, the television and newspaper company, is in talks with J.P. Morgan about refinancing its $1 billion facility that expires in August 2002, and expects to complete the new deal by year-end. The refinancing is amidst a market that sees continued advertising weakness, especially national revenues at the television stations and classified employment revenue in the newspapers, said a banker. There has also been revenue losses specifically related to the coverage of Sept. 11, with advertisers unwilling to associate products with the coverage. Calls to Dunia Shive, executive v.p., and cfo and Carey Hendrickson, v.p., for investor relations were not returned. Calls to the J.P. Morgan spokesman were also not returned.

Todd Sycoff, the head high-yield trader at Merrill Lynch, accepted a compensation package and resigned last Thursday morning, according to several senior high-yield officials on the buy- and sell-sides. Jessica Oppenheim, a Merrill Lynch spokeswoman, was unable to confirm Sycoff's resignation at press time. Several buy-side high-yield managers say they were told by Merrill junk pros last Thursday that Sycoff, whose principal focus was on telecom credits, has decided to take some time off. He reported to Dow Kim, the head of Merrill's fixed-income group. Sycoff could not be reached, and did not respond to a phone message left with a family member.

Sandler O'Neill, the niche investment-bank devastated by the Sept. 11 attacks, has hired Charles Smart and Dhiren Toolsidas, two structured product research veterans from defunct e-trading network Visible Markets, to rebuild its fixed-income quantitative analytics effort. The positions are new, and Sandler O'Neill insiders were uncertain as to who had held the positions previously. Smart and Toolsidas will report to John Doyle, the firm's head of fixed-income. Smart will be a managing director, Toolsidas an associate director. Doyle did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Tenneco Automotive's debt traded up to the 75-77 range from 74 early last week on the announcement of better numbers. Approximately $20 million changed hands, but buyers and sellers could not be ascertained. On Oct. 25, the company announced it has continued to successfully generate cash and reduce its debt by $111 million in the third quarter. Officials noted they are encouraged by improving aftermarket margins. Traders said the auto sector continues to struggle, so any positive announcements tend to get a reaction in the market. Tenneco is an auto parts maker based in Lake Forest, Ill. Calls to Mark McCollum, cfo, were referred to treasurer Paul Novas, who did not return them.