Triton PCS has added a $125 million term loan to an existing $355 million credit in an effort to achieve better short-term liquidity. "It makes good sense to have that liquidity," said Daniel Hopkins, senior v.p. of finance and treasurer for Triton. The new deal also eases the company's amortization schedule for the next five years.
Triton was able to secure the additional funding after paying down part of the shorter-term debt from a $750 million credit facility that would have begun an aggressive amortization schedule over the next two years. Proceeds from a $400 million senior subordinated note offering were used to retire that bank debt. Following the pay down, Triton's banks offered the company back some additional borrowing capacity in the form of the new term loan, said Hopkins. General Electric Capital Corp. contributed the most to the new deal with a commitment of $50 million. "They have been following the company since its inception and are very comfortable with the credit," noted Hopkins. J.P. Morgan is the lead and administration agent on the deal and Wachovia Securities and Bank of Nova Scotia hold the titles of syndication and documentation agent, respectively.
The new credit is priced the same as the company's existing $50 million term loan "B" at LIBOR plus 3%, joining a $305 million pro rata piece priced against a leverage-based grid at LIBOR plus 2%. The pro rata piece amortizes equally over the next five years and the combined "B" term loan has one full payment at its maturity date.