BANK ONE is shopping a $100 million, five-year "B" loan for Acuity Brands, after the Atlanta-based lighting and specialty chemicals company realized the pro rata market was essentially closed for further business. "We want an extra $100 million for liquidity purposes, but we realized it would be very difficult to get from the banks," said Dan Smith, treasurer for Acuity, explaining the move to the "B" market. BANK ONE closed on a $105 million, 364-day and $105 million, three-year line in March, after the company originally targeted $200 million in borrowings.
Smith does not believe the banks are singling out Acuity. "It is more the general environment, and we did have a successful syndication in March," he said, adding it would have been preferable to go to the banks. Pricing on the pro rata is LIBOR plus 11/2 % for the BBB/Baa3 name, but the funds will receive LIBOR plus 21/4 %.
Acuity spun-off from National Service Industries last November, but since then demand has waned for its products as construction spending has dropped off. Calls to officials at BANK ONE were not returned.