Banc of America Securities is shopping a $200 million, asset-based, three-year revolver for South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor, as rivals cut plants citing excess capacity. The company is the sole distributor of auto parts in the U.S. for Hyundai, which recently confirmed plans to build a new vehicle-assembly plant in the U.S. to support booming sales in North America. General Motors, Daimler Chrysler and Ford Motor have all said plants will be cut. Hyundai cars are generally inexpensive compared to their U.S. rivals. The spread on the credit is LIBOR plus 2%. Commitments are due Feb. 6 and $150 million had been raised by presstime.
The asset-based structure is being seen increasingly on deals in the market. To deepen the bench, B of A brought back Barry Bobrow from London to work in Charlotte on the asset-based lending desk (LMW, 1/21). Other recent B of A asset-based credits, include a $350 million revolver for Brown Shoe (LMW, 1/7), and a $700 million revolver for Saks, with the structure predicted to be increasingly seen this year. Institutional tranches will be seen with more frequency on the larger deals to deepen the pool of investors, according to a Banc of America banker.