The new bank debt for Washington Group International is trading in the 100-1001/2 range after the $350 million credit was recently completed by lead bank Credit Suisse First Boston. The new deal carries a LIBOR plus 33/4% spread with a 2% LIBOR floor, and is slated to save the company approximately $9 million in interest costs compared to the previous credit.
Market players said a few investors were unable to get comfortable with the name due to its storied nature. Previous bank debt for Washington Group traded as low as the 55 range in March of 2001 after the company ran into problems with the construction and engineering arm of Raytheon Company, which it had acquired. Washington Group ultimately filed for bankruptcy after experiencing severe liquidity issues. An investor relations spokeswoman for Washington Group was traveling and could not be reached by press time.