by Ron Carleton | Jun 1, 2009
Microsoft borrowed $3.8 billion in the US corporate bond market on May 11, driving its total debt up to $5.8 billion. But there’s no need for panic. The company had $36.9 billion worth of cash and investments at the end of March, was producing annualized EBITDA...
by Ron Carleton | May 8, 2009
When Thomas H. Lee Partners purchased Michael Foods in 2003,it financed the deal with a combination of term loans and bonds. All partiesagreed that if there was ever a problem, the term loans would be repaid before the bonds. In exchange for agreeing to take this...
by Ron Carleton | Apr 2, 2009
Loans to non-investment grade and middle-market companies are typically secured by the borrower’s receivables, inventory, and fixed assets. Pledging this collateral, however, does not reduce the borrower’s likelihood of default. Security should reduce the loan’s loss...
by Ron Carleton | Mar 25, 2009
Eddie Bauer did not have a good fourth quarter of 2008. Reflecting the worsening economy, sales were down 5.7% compared to the forth quarter of 2007. Still, adjusted EBITDA for the full year 2008 was almost $53 million, up over 25% from 2007. As for liquidity, the...
by Ron Carleton | Mar 16, 2009
Wendy’s/Arby’s Group, Inc. (ticker WEN) was formed in September 2008 through the merger of the Wendy’s and Arby’s fast food chains. In March 2009, WEN announced it had redone its main loan agreement to reflect the merger. Nothing unusual there....
