The Standard Register Co. has tapped Banc of America Securities to join KeyBank as co-lead of a new $100 million five-year secured revolver because of B of A's strength in a leading asset-based lending deals. "We were basically moving to an ABL deal. [B of A] has been a banking provider to us but they are also a leader on the ABL deals. KeyBank is our longstanding relationship," said Bob Ginnan, Standard's corporate controller. Key Bank was the lead lender in the previous credit.
B of A was in the bank group for Standard's previous $150 million unsecured revolver group. The four-year revolver expired this month. Other lenders in the facility include JPMorgan, National City Business Credit, U.S. Bank, Bank of New York and Fifth Third Bank. These banks have been both Sandard's clients and providers of financial services.
The previous syndicate comprised 10 lenders and is essentially unchanged. Two banks dropped out while Bank One and JPMorgan merged, he explained. LaSalle Bank and Harris Trust & Savings Bank left the syndicate. Ginnan said he believed the reasons were terms and pricing, but he could not specify.
Pricing is performance based and increased from the last deal to LIBOR plus 1 1/2% from LIBOR plus 60 basis points. Ginnan said that while the company's balance sheet remains strong, its financial performance has been hindered by the transformation strategy it started in 2001 to provide long-term shareholder value. The new deal, though smaller, fits Standard's needs. "We didn't need to have a larger deal. You pay unused line fees and there were no reasons for us to pay that," he underscored.