Dockwise in structural flex

Pricing and structure on the US$680m financing backing 3i’s buyout of heavy transport shipping operator Dockwise has been flexed down after a heavy oversubscription, via bookrunners Lehman Brothers and Unicredit and MLA Fortis Bank.

The US$135 mezzanine tranche has been removed with US$50m being added to the B tranche, US$50m to the C tranche and US$35m to the second-lien tranche. Pricing on the B and C tranches has been cut 12.5bp, while 25bp has also been taken off the second-lien debt’s margin.Post-flex, debt comprises a US$240m eight-year term loan B at 237.5bp over Libor, a US$240m nine-year term loan C at 287.5bp, a US$60m seven-year revolver at 225bp and a US$40m capex facility, which converts into a B and C tranche in equal measure upon drawing and is priced as such. Additionally, there is a US$65m nine-and-a-half year second-lien tranche at 450p over Libor. Prepayment penalties on the second-lien have also been eased from 102/101/par to 101/par. 3i is using the deal’s heavy oversubscription and the company’s strong trading performance to pay itself a dividend, which will be funded through the addition of a US$65m PIK loan at 950bp.