J.P. Morgan, Salomon Smith Barney and Morgan Stanley are leading the charge on a repricing for Resolution Perfomance Products that would shave 100 basis points off the LIBOR plus 33/ 4% the company is paying on its "B" term loan. A banker said the company is in aggressive de-leverage mode, and only about $225 million is left from the original $350 million "B" loan. The three banks held a meeting last week via conference call.
Travis Spoede, executive v.p. and cfo, said in January, "At the roadshow in 2000, there was a commitment to aggressively repay the debt (LMW, 1/6). Interest is quite high and, since there were no suitable acquisition opportunities, more value is created by reducing debt."
Resolution made a fifth voluntary repayment on its "B" loan in March for $7.5 million and in total has made $76.6 million in voluntary repayments on the term loans. Since inception in November 2000, Resolution has reduced its debt by more than $134 million, in addition to repaying $54.1 million on the revolver. Resolution manufactures and develops epoxy resins, which are used in the manufacture of coating, adhesives and printed circuit boards.