Citigroup and Bank of America launched syndication of the credit backing the $4.2 billion leveraged buyout of Ondeo Nalco to pro rata players last week, according to a banker familiar with the deal. The exact structure of the credit could not be confirmed, as one banker explained the breakdown is still not finalized. But market players said the facility will most likely have a "B" loan in the neighborhood of $1.1 billion and $300 million in pro rata. Price talk was estimated in the LIBOR plus 23/4-3% range. Retail syndication will be launched within the next few weeks, the banker noted.
Citi and B of A are shopping the credit in conjunction with an equally mammoth bond deal that could hit the $1.8 billion mark. Both the bank and bond deals, totaling $3.2 billion in financing, will back the purchase of Nalco, a water treatment provider and chemical processor currently owned by French water company Suez, by The Blackstone Group, Apollo Management and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners (LMW, 9/8). J.P. Morgan, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and UBS are also at the helm in leading the financing package, but Citi and B of A are on the far left for the bank deal, the banker explained. Citi and B of A are also advisors to Blackstone on the transaction. A J.P. Morgan spokesman and Citi and UBS officials declined to comment, while B of A, Deutsche Bank and Goldman bankers did not return calls. A Blackstone spokesman declined to comment.