Marlink finalizes $525M, €250M term loans wide of talk; allocations Nov. 5

A Goldman Sachs-led arranger group has revised terms on the $525 million dollar-denominated and €250 million euro-denominated first-lien term loans for Marlink AS, according to sources. Both tranches will price and allocate Nov. 5.

The seven-year dollar-denominated term loan is now offered at L+475, with a 0.75% Libor floor and an original issue discount of 97, from L+450-475 with a 0.50% floor and an OID of 99 at launch. A 25-basis-point leverage-based step-down and an IPO-based margin step-down have both been removed. Lenders are now offered 12 months of 101 soft call protection, from six months initially. At final terms, yield to maturity is 6.19%.

The seven-year euro-denominated term loan is now offered at E+475, with a 0% floor and an OID of 97, from E+450-475 and an OID of 99 initially. The 101 soft call protection has also been extended to 12 months, from six months at launch, and two leverage-based margin step-downs and an IPO-based step-down have also been removed. At final terms, yield to maturity is 5.39%.

The ticking fee has also been revised, and there is now no fee for the first 45 days. Then it is 50% of the margin from days 46-75, stepping to 100% of the margin thereafter. Originally, there was no ticking fee for 60 days, then it was 50% of the margin from days 61-90, stepping to 100% of the margin from day 91 onward.

Proceeds will be used to back the acquisition of the company by Providence Equity Partners, which agreed to acquire a majority stake in the company from Apax Partners on Sept. 13.

The full arranger group also includes BNP Paribas, BofA Securities, Barclays, KKR Capital Markets, HSBC and Banque CIC.

Rating agencies have assigned facility and corporate ratings of B/B2, with a 3 recovery rating from S&P Global Ratings and a stable outlook from both Ratings and Moody's. Financing will also include a $150 million multicurrency revolving credit facility and the equity contribution totals $506 million, according to a Moody's ratings report.

Marlink Group is a global provider of business-critical satellite communications services with strong positions in both maritime and enterprise satellite communications solutions.