Excel Legacy has obtained a $100 million credit from FleetBoston Financial. The bank will be looking for three to four lenders to round out the syndicate and commit $15-20 million apiece, according to Gary Saiban, chairman, president and ceo. About eight institutions attended the bank meeting, which was held in San Diego last Wednesday, noted Jeffrey Warwick, senior banker at Fleet. Excel, a San Diego-based retail real estate company, may expand the size of the line if it is oversubscribed, Saiban added. Commitments are due in two to three weeks.
The company tapped Fleet because of its longstanding relationship with the bank, Saiban said, adding that it has been one of its primary lenders since 1992. Excel Legacy also works with Wells Fargo Bank, and alternates between the two for its financing needs, Saiban said. Wells will likely participate in this syndication, he added.
Pricing on the three-year unsecured credit is based on a grid tied to leverage, Warwick said, declining to elaborate. The line will be used to retire the company's $75 million line, which was provided by Wells Fargo Bank, Saiban noted. Pricing on that line also is based on a grid tied to leverage and ranges from LIBOR plus 11/ 2% to 13/ 4%. The company reduced the size of the line from $125 million with some of the proceeds from a $121 million commercial mortgage-backed securities deal it completed with GMAC Commercial Mortgage. At the time, it did not need the line's full capacity.