Financing in brief

• Bookrunners JPMorgan and BNP Paribas have closed syndication of the £825m debt package supporting the buyout of a stake in Trader Media. As Europe’s first covenant light new money LBO loan, the package found a good reception in syndication and is oversubscribed. As a result the £800m eight-year term loan B has been priced at 212.5bp over Libor, down from price talk of 225bp. In addition there is a £35m seven-year revolver. The deal backs Apax Partners‘ acquisition of a stake in the company from Guardian Media.

• MACH has closed syndication of its €510.2m leveraged loan oversubscribed. Proceeds support the acquisition of Sibernet as well as refinancing the debt that backed sponsor Warburg Pincus‘ buyout of the company in 2005. SG and UBS are bookrunners. Given the positive reception, the leads have structurally flexed the facility by folding the €45m mezzanine into the senior and second-lien tranches. Senior debt now totals €440.2m with a €70m second-lien loan.
• MLAs Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs have closed syndication of the €2.14bn debt package supporting Charterhouse Capital Partners‘ buyout of ISTA, a sub-metering and utility billing group, from CVC. The facility has closed oversubscribed and the leads are now talking to the sponsor regarding a possible flex. Senior debt is split between a €1.55bn eight-year B loan, a €60m seven-year revolver, a €80m capex facility. In addition there is a €450m second-lien piece. At launch senior price talk was 200bp.

• ING and SG are mandated to arrange a refinancing by way of an amendment of the N&W Global Vending‘s €527.5m buyout loan from 2005. The transaction will see the subordinated tranches refinanced on a senior basis. In addition the senior tranches will be repriced. A waiver and new money invitation are expected to be sent out imminently. Argan Capital and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity are sponsors.

• Bookrunners Lehman Brothers and RBS are likely to come back with a downward price flex after the US$2.92bn package supporting a dividend payment and refinancing of debt backing CVC’s buyout of Formula One closed oversubscribed. In November 2006 the bookrunners underwrote and arranged an initial syndication of the package to a limited number of investors.

• Gambro Healthcare has mandated Dresdner Kleinwort and RBS as bookrunners and GE Commercial Finance as MLA on a SKr5.5bn loan backing its buy-out by Bridgepoint. The loan will comprise around SKr1bn of undrawn facilities, SKr3.2bn of drawn senior facilities and SKr950m of mezzanine facilities. The senior leverage will be around 6x pro forma Ebitda, with total leverage through the junior mezzanine around 9x Ebitda. Gambro Healthcare is an operator of dialysis clinics.