Financing In brief 4

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  • Bookrunner UniCredit Group (HVB) and MLA Interbanca have been mandated to arrange the €240m debt package backing Doughty Hanson’s acquisition of a majority share of Italian domestic air freshener and insecticide manufacturer Zobele. Under the terms of the acquisition Doughty Hanson will have majority control with a 70% share, the Zobele family will retain 25%, with the remainder being held by Zobele’s management team. Doughty Hanson & CO Fund IV will invest €100m and the deal is expected to close in 2006 subject to regulatory approval. Syndication of the €240m all-senior transaction will be launched in early 2007. Zobele is a family-owned business based in Trento, Italy, and has expected revenues of €240m for 2006 and an Ebitda of €45m.
  • GIB, a joint venture between Nationale a Portefeuille (CNP) and Ackermans Van Haaren, has agreed to CDC Capital’s €800m bid for its 57.42% stake in fast food chain Quick Restaurants. BNP Paribas has been mandated to arrange the debt backing the deal. GIB has waived the right to agree to any counter-offer and has granted CDC a call option on all shares it holds in Quick. A formal notice of offer and draft prospectus will be launched soon and the offer is likely to commence before the end of the year.
  • The £1.815bn debt backing the tertiary buyout of General Healthcare Group has launched, via bookrunner Barclays. Dresdner Kleinwort, Bank of Scotland and Mizuho Corporate Bank joined as sub-underwriters ahead of launch. The debt funds a consortium comprising South Africa’s Netcare and sponsors, Apax, London & Regional and Babcock Capital’s buyout of the company. Netcare is also put its UK operations into the company. BC Partners, which acquired the company from Cinven in 200, is the seller. This financing takes out the £1.995bn bridge loan that Barclays arranged to support the acquisition back in June.Debt comprises an opco/propco structure with £315m of the debt held at the operating company level and £1.65bn at the property company level. Opco debt comprises a £75m seven-year term loan A at 225bp over Libor, an £80m eight-year term loan B at 250bp, an £80m nine-year term loan C at 300bp, a £40m seven-year revolver at 225bp and a £40m seven-year capex line at 225bp. Some 60% of the B and C tranches have been carved out for funds. Leverage on the opco debt is about 2.7x. Banks are invited into this debt on £17.5m for 75bp and £12.5m for 65bp.
  • All3Media Group has requested a reverse flex on the £237m debt package backing Permira’s LBO of the company, through bookrunners Bank of Scotland and RBS. Pricing on the B and C loan has been flexed down by 12.5bp, the second-lien has been dropped by 25bp and the PIK part of the mezzanine is flexed down by 25bp.