Airborne, the cold formula developed by a second grade teacher and endorsed by screen star Kevin Costner, is in the market looking for $180 million in bank loans. JPMorgan is leading the financing, which consists of a $30 million revolver, a $110 million term loan "B" and a $40 million second lien. Pricing is LIBOR plus 3% on the revolver and "B" loan and LIBOR plus 7% on the second lien.
"Look, Airborne is great. I wouldn't go on a movie set without it; it's on my plane and in my house," said Costner, according to Airborne's Web site. Developed by school teacher Victoria Knight-McDowell and a team of health professionals, Airborne combines seven herbs, puts them through a patented extraction process and then combines them with a formulation of amino acids, anti-oxidants and electrolytes. It is sold at a number of retailers including CVS, Duane Reade, Pathmark and Stop & Shop. A company spokeswoman did not comment by press time.