Bankers said pricing on the Fairpoint Communications deal has risen 50 basis points on both the "B" and "C" tranches to attract players as Deutsche Bank and Bank of America have been struggling to get the credit through syndication. Market chatter is that the $150 million add-on deal is not getting a lot of attention as more attractive deals for Williams Communications and Level 3 Communications are rumored to be having syndication trouble of their own in the face of a recent flood of telecom deals. Calls to banks and the company were not returned by press time.
The new deal includes a $250 million, three-year revolver priced at LIBOR plus 23/4 %; a five-year, $142 million term loan "B" priced at LIBOR plus 33/4 %; and a $145 million, term loan "C" priced at LIBOR plus 33/4 %.