BNP Paribas pulled a $140 million facility for Cayman-domiciled SKILL Holdings after equity sponsor ZS Fund got another offer to buy the company. The credit comprised a $20 million revolver and $120 million "B" loan, both being talked at LIBOR plus 31/2%. "It was a strange mix of businesses, but it was surprisingly stable and preformed pretty well," one loan investor said.
SKILL is made up of Baltimore-based Life-Like Products, a manufacturer of foam picnic coolers and distributor of model trains, and Hong Kong-based Sanda Kan Industrial, a model train manufacturer. The debt was being used to back American Capital Strategies' $249 million acquisition of a portion of ZS' stake in SKILL, but the deal was nixed after ZS received and accepted an offer from another sponsor to acquire Sanda Kan. The new buyer has not been disclosed and ZS will hold on to Life-Like. BNP bankers and Nick Burger, a senior associate with ZS, declined comment.