Grifols Said to Seek $3.4 Billion in Loans to Refinance Debt
January 30, 2012, 12:58 PM ESTBy Krista Giovacco
(Updates largest loan in second paragraph.)
Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Grifols SA, Europe’s largest maker of blood-plasma products, is seeking $3.4 billion in leveraged loans as prices of the debt reach a five month high.
Proceeds will be used to refinance debt used to support the Barcelona-based company’s acquisition of Talecris Biotherapeutics Holdings Corp. in 2010, according to a person with knowledge of the deal, who declined to be identified because the terms are private. The financing is the biggest leveraged loan to be raised this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Grifols follows companies including Crown Castle International Corp. and Roundy’s Supermarkets Inc in reducing borrowing costs, Bloomberg data show. Speculative-grade borrowers are taking advantage of demand for loans as prices have climbed to 93.07 cents on the dollar, the highest since Aug.3, according to the Standard & Poor’s/LSTA U.S. Leveraged Loan 100 Index.
Deutsche Bank AG, Nomura Holdings Inc., Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, BNP Paribas SA, HSBC Holdings Plc and Morgan Stanley are arranging the deal and will meet with lenders tomorrow in New York, said the person.
The transaction includes a $2.2 billion term loan B, a $600 million term loan A, a $300 million, revolving line of credit, and a 220 million euro term loan, the person said. The new loans will have the same maturities as the existing deals.
Christopher Healey, a U.S.-based spokesman for Grifols, didn’t immediate return a telephone call seeking comment.
Grifols’ Debt
A $1.3 billion term loan B due in 2017 currently pays 4.25 percentage points more than the London interbank offered rate with a 1.75 percent minimum on the lending benchmark, according to Bloomberg data, while a $1.2 billion term loan A due in 2015 pays 3.75 percentage points more than Libor.
The company’s $250.67 million A piece denominated in euros and due in 2015 pays 4 percentage points more than the Euribor benchmark, Bloomberg data show, while a $220 million B portion maturing in 2016 and denominated in euros pays 4.5 percentage points more than Libor with a 1.75 percent minimum.
A term loan B is sold mainly to non-bank lenders such as collateralized loan obligations, bank loan mutual funds and hedge funds. A term loan A is sold mainly to banks. In a revolving credit facility, money can be borrowed again once it’s repaid; in a term loan, it can’t.
--Editors: Faris Khan, Chapin Wright
To contact the reporter on this story: Krista Giovacco in New York at kgiovacco1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Faris Khan at fkhan33@bloomberg.net
