Wachovia Securities and Lehman Brothers are teaming up to launch syndication of a $200 million deal that backs the buyout of Johnson & Johnson's JELCO intravenous catheter business by medical device manufacturer Medex and One Equity Partners--the private equity arm of Bank One. The credit, scheduled to hit the market tomorrow, includes a six-year, $175 million "B" loan and a five-year, $25 million revolver.
A banker familiar with the deal said the facility is expected to be priced in the LIBOR plus 33/4-4% range, but another banker said the spread would be determined more clearly when the credit's ratings--expected between B and BB--are announced. The transaction also includes equity and bond components, but the exact breakdown could not be confirmed. Officials from Wachovia declined to comment. Lehman bankers did not return calls.
Dublin, Ohio-based Medex was bought out by its employees from Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics in 2001, making it solely a medical rather than industrial company. PNC Bank reportedly structured, underwrote and provided financing for the management buyout, with Huntington National Bank and Stonehenge Opportunity Fund--a Columbus, Ohio-based investment fund of private equity firm Stonehenge Partners--also lending to that deal. Medex also acquired Inhalation Plastics in 2002, expanding the company's Medex Cardio-Pulmonary subsidiary. A Medex spokesman and a PNC official declined comment.