A $750 million bond deal helped pushed up a piece of Young Broadcasting's bank facility to the mid-101 range. Strong support for the bond deal bolstered the credit in the bank loan market, dealers said. "[The bonds] opened at par 5/8 and no one's been able to buy them since," one dealer said. "They're a top-tier credit, and there's not a lot of supply. It's a strong rating -- it got a BB." The dealer, however, predicts that the upcoming year will be tough for a lot of sectors, with radio pulling through. "Money was overspent on politics and the Olympics is gone, so TV will be a tougher sector. Guys with exposure to radio will stack better."
Young Broadcasting has an $800 million credit facility which breaks down into three tranches and expires in 2006. Pricing is at LIBOR plus 3 1/4 %. Deutsche Bank, First Union, and CIBC World Markets are the lead arrangers, according to Capital DATA Loanware.