Kraton Polymer is taking out a new $365 million term loan facility to buy back all of its 12% senior discount notes due 2014, which currently sit at Polymer Holding, and to refinance its existing term loan. The existing term loan is currently priced at LIBOR plus 2 1/2% and the new loan is going out with pricing of LIBOR plus 2%. Goldman Sachs is the sole lead on the deal.
Moody's Investors Service assigned a B1 rating to the term loan and a new corporate family rating of B1 was also assigned. Standard & Poor's assigned a B+ rating. Based in Houston, Texas, Kraton produces styrenic block polymers. It has about $975 million in annual sales, according to S&P.
Texas Pacific Group and JPMorgan Partners bought Kraton from Ripplewood Holdings in 2003. Goldman Sachs and UBS led the $390 million facility to back the $770 million acquisition (LMW, 12/7/2003). A TPG spokesman and a JPMorgan Partners spokeswoman declined comment. A Kraton spokeswoman referred all questions to the company conference call held last Wednesday.