Calpine's "B" piece has grabbed the attention of the buyside, who pushed the size of the tranche to $1 billion from $600 million. When terms of the loan were originally floated, investors balked at the risk of lending to the embattled power generator, investors and bankers said. The LIBOR plus 23/ 4% spread was seen as way too low without enough security in place. But after pricing was upped 1% and some added collateral was thrown in, the deal gained traction. It could not be determined if the $1 billion revolver has been downsized in conjunction with the term loan "B" increase.
Credit Suisse First Boston, Citibank and Deutsche Bank lead the term loan "B," while Bank of Nova Scotia, Bayerische Landesbank, Bank of America, Toronto Dominion and CSFB lead the revolver. Pricing on the revolver also increased to LIBOR plus 31/ 4%, with a 1/2% commitment fee. Calls to Bill Highlander were not returned.