Teleflex's new $400 million revolver merges several 364-day lines into one facility. "It was a consolidation of all of our existing liquidity into one big package," explained Jeff Jacobs, Teleflex's treasurer. The single facility is advantageous to the company because "it's one document, one set of covenants," Jacobs said. "It also gives us some liquidity protection for the next five years," he added. Proceeds from the revolver were also used to back the $460 million acquisition of Hudson Respiratory Care.
Teleflex considered four banks to lead the facility, but ultimately chose J.P. Morgan and Wachovia Securities because of the banks' position in the marketplace and past relationships, Jacobs said. PNC Bank and Bank of America were also considered as leads, but were given agent roles, he added. There are a total of 19 banks on the line. "They were all relationship banks," Jacobs noted. The new line has a $100 million accordion feature. The revolver is priced on a grid tied to leverage that ranges from LIBOR plus 40-80 basis points and is currently at LIBOR plus 70 bps.