Oaktree Specialty Lending entered into a new secured revolving credit facility with a $600 million capacity and a maturity date of November 2020. The final maturity date will occur one year following the end of the revolving period. The interest rate on the ranges from LIBOR plus 2.25% to 2.75%, with the initial pricing at LIBOR plus 2.25%.

According to a related 8-k filing, ING Capital served as administrative agent. ING Capital, J.P. Morgan and Bank of America Merrill Lynch served as joint lead arrangers. Five new members joined the syndicate, which includes Barclays Bank, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley Bank, Stifel Bank and Trust, Tristate Capital Bank, UBS Stamford Branch and Webster Bank.

The total number of lenders is now 14. The facility includes usual and customary representations and warranties, covenants and events of default for senior secured facilities of this nature.

“We are pleased to have entered into this new credit facility, achieving attractive pricing and terms, increasing its size and extending the revolving period from the previous facility,” said Matt Pendo, CEO of Oaktree Specialty Lending. “We appreciate the continued support of our lending partners and welcome the new members to the syndicate. This new facility allows us to efficiently fund Oaktree Specialty Lending and is a sign of the support and confidence in the Oaktree platform and our approach to credit investing.”

Oaktree Specialty Lending is a specialty finance company dedicated to providing customized one-stop credit solutions to companies with limited access to public or syndicated capital markets.

CVS Health will acquire all outstanding shares of Aetna for a combination of cash and stock. Under the terms of the merger agreement, which was unanimously approved today by the boards of directors of each company, Aetna shareholders will receive $145 per share in cash and 0.8378 CVS Health shares for each Aetna share.

The transaction values Aetna at approximately $207 per share or approximately $69 billion. Including the assumption of Aetna’s debt, the total value of the transaction is $77 billion.

CVS Health President and CEO Larry J. Merlo said, “This combination brings together the expertise of two great companies to remake the consumer health care experience. With the analytics of Aetna and CVS Health’s human touch, we will create a health care platform built around individuals. We look forward to working with the talented people at Aetna to position the combined company as America’s front door to quality health care, integrating more closely the work of doctors, pharmacists, other health care professionals and health benefits companies to create a platform that is easier to use and less expensive for consumers.”

Under the terms of the merger agreement, each outstanding share of Aetna common stock will be exchanged for $145.00 in cash and 0.8378 shares of CVS Health common stock. Upon closing of the transaction Aetna shareholders will own approximately 22% of the combined company and CVS Health shareholders will own approximately 78%. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2018. It is subject to approval by regulators and CVS Health and Aetna shareholders, along with other customary closing conditions.

CVS Health intends to fund the cash portion of the transaction through a combination of existing cash on hand and debt financing. The transaction will not be contingent upon receipt of financing. Barclays,Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Merrill Lynch are providing $49 billion of financing commitments.

Barclays, Goldman Sachs and Centerview Partners are serving as financial advisors to CVS Health and its board of directors. The company was advised on legal matters by Shearman & Sterling, Dechert and McDermott Will & Emery. Lazard and Allen & Company are serving as financial advisors to Aetna, with Evercore serving as financial advisor to its board of directors and Davis Polk & Wardwell acting as its legal advisor.

Ardagh Group closed on a committed five-year asset-based revolving credit facility of $850 million agented by Citi.

The new facility, secured by trade receivables and inventories, replaced existing facilities of €150 million ($176.1 million) and $200 million respectively, reflecting Ardagh’s increased scale following the beverage can acquisition in 2016. It will provide funding for working capital and general corporate purposes.

The new facility will also further diversify Ardagh’s funding sources and enhance its capital structure, following significant refinancing activity earlier this year to materially extend debt maturities and reduce financing costs.

Citi, with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, also served as joint global coordinator. Barclays, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey and Wells Fargo acted as joint lead arrangers along with J.P. Morgan, Rabobank, ING and HSBC.

Ardagh Group producers metal and glass packaging solutions for most of the world’s food, beverage and consumer brands.

Oaktree Specialty Lending closed a new secured revolving credit facility. The facility’s total capacity is $600 million, the revolving period expires in November 2020 and the final maturity date will occur one year following the end of the revolving period.

The interest rate on the facility ranges from LIBOR plus 2.25% to 2.75%, with the initial pricing at LIBOR plus 2.25%.

ING Capital, J.P. Morgan and Bank of America Merrill Lynch served as joint lead arrangers. The facility also includes the addition of five new members to the syndicate, bringing the total number of lenders to 14.

“We are pleased to have entered into this new credit facility, achieving attractive pricing and terms, increasing its size and extending the revolving period from the previous facility,” said Matt Pendo, COO of Oaktree Specialty Lending. “We appreciate the continued support of our lending partners and welcome the new members to the syndicate. This new facility allows us to efficiently fund Oaktree Specialty Lending and is a sign of the support and confidence in the Oaktree platform and our approach to credit investing.”

Keane Group, a well completion services provider, amended its asset-based revolving credit facility with Bank of America serving as administrative agent.

The new ABL facility expanded the company’s total availability by $150 million to a total of $300 million, subject to a borrowing base. In addition, subject to approval by the applicable lenders and other customary conditions, the facility allows for an increase in commitments of up to an additional $150 million, up from a previous amount of up to $75 million.

Keane’s estimated availability under the new facility following the amendment is approximately $215 million. The facility bears interest at LIBOR + 150-200 bps, compared to LIBOR + 400-450 bps previously, along with a lower undrawn commitment fee of 25-37.5 bps, compared to 100-125 bps previously. The facility also amended certain terms to reflect Keane’s growth and provide additional flexibility under its covenants.

“This latest amendment to our ABL facility significantly expands our revolving credit capacity, materially reduces interest costs and deepens our lender base,” said Greg Powell, president and CFO of Keane. “We are pleased to enhance our already strong liquidity position, enhancing our growth and financial flexibility against a highly constructive market backdrop for U.S. completions services.”

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, PNC Capital Markets and Barclays acted as joint lead arrangers and joint book runners for the new facility.

Thomson Reuters agreed to enter into a strategic partnership with Blackstone. As part of the transaction, Thomson Reuters will sell a 55% majority stake in its F&R business to private equity funds managed by Blackstone.

The F&R business is valued at approximately $20 billion. Thomson Reuters will receive approximately $17 billion in gross proceeds at closing (subject to purchase price adjustments) funded by $14 billion of debt and preferred equity to be incurred by the partnership and a $3 billion cash equity contribution by Blackstone. Thomson Reuters will retain a 45% interest in the F&R business and maintain full ownership of its Legal, Tax & Accounting and the Reuters News businesses.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and GIC will invest alongside Blackstone for the transaction.

The F&R business provides a broad range of offerings to financial market professionals. Its global content sets include fundamentals, estimates and primary and secondary research. F&R also provides customers with tools, platforms, venues and services to enable fast, intelligent decision-making. The businesses that will comprise the new F&R partnership had 2017 revenues of approximately $6 billion.

“This deal strengthens F&R and should accelerate its growth and benefit its customers across the sell-side, buy-side and trading venues. Blackstone’s strong relationships in the financial services industry and long and successful history of corporate partnerships will help F&R provide new and innovative products and services, drive further efficiencies and navigate ongoing industry consolidation,” said Jim Smith, president and CEO of Thomson Reuters.

The new partnership will be managed by a 10-person board composed of five representatives from Blackstone and four from Thomson Reuters.

Guggenheim Securities, TD Securities and Centerview Partners are serving as advisors to Thomson Reuters. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is serving as legal counsel to Thomson Reuters for the transaction, with Torys serving as Canadian legal counsel. Norton Rose Fulbright is serving as legal counsel to the Thomson Reuters Founders Share Company. Canson Capital Partners, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup and J.P. Morgan are acting as financial advisors to Blackstone. Debt financing related to the transaction is being provided by J.P. Morgan, BofA Merrill Lynch and Citigroup. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is acting as legal counsel to Blackstone.

Dr Pepper Snapple Group and Keurig Green Mountain entered into a merger agreement to create a new beverage company, Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP).

Under the terms of the agreement, which was unanimously approved by the Dr Pepper Snapple Board of Directors, Dr Pepper Snapple shareholders will receive $103.75 per share in a special cash dividend and retain 13% of the combined company.

JAB Holding Company and its partners, will together make an equity investment of $9 billion as part of the financing of the transaction. JAB will be investing equity capital from JAB Holding Company as well as through JAB Consumer Fund. Entities affiliated with BDT Capital Partners, a Chicago-based merchant bank which provides long-term private capital and advice to closely held companies, are investing alongside JAB. Upon closing of the transaction, JAB will be the controlling shareholder. Mondelez International, JAB’s partner in Keurig, will hold an approximately 13%-14% stake in the combined company.

The balance of the transaction financing will be provided through financing debt commitments from JPMorgan Chase Bank, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs. The transaction is not subject to a financing condition and is expected to close in Q2/18, subject to the approval of Dr Pepper Snapple shareholders and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals.

Goldman Sachs served as lead financial advisor to Keurig. BDT, AFW LP, J.P. Morgan Securities and Bank of America Merrill Lynch also acted as financial advisors to Keurig with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom serving as legal counsel and McDermott Will & Emery serving as tax counsel. Credit Suisse served as financial advisor to Dr Pepper Snapple and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius is serving as Dr Pepper Snapple’s legal advisor. Clifford Chance U.S. is serving as legal advisor to Mondelez International.

KDP will have pro forma combined 2017 annual revenues of approximately $11 billion.

Larry Young, president and CEO of Dr Pepper Snapple, said, “This transaction will deliver significant and immediate value to our shareholders, along with the opportunity to participate in the long-term upside potential of our combined company and attract new brands and beverage categories to our platform in a fast-changing industry landscape.”

Bart Becht, partner and chairman of JAB Holding Company and Chairman of Keurig, said, “We are very excited about the prospect of KDP becoming a challenger in the beverage industry. Management’s proven operational and integration track record along with their commitment to innovation and potential future brand consolidation opportunities, while maintaining an investment grade rating, positions the company well for long-term success and material shareholder value creation.”

SunTrust Bank was administrative agent for a $400 million revolving credit facility for AMN Healthcare Services, a healthcare staffing provider.

SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and JPMorgan Chase acted as joint lead arrangers for the transaction.

The agreement also included the ability to expand borrowing by $250 million, plus additional amounts based on a net leverage ratio test, subject to certain terms and conditions. This new five-year agreement replaced the previous $275 million credit facility.

Compared with the previous credit agreement, pricing was reduced by at least 25 basis points at all leverage levels. Other terms of the agreement were consistent with or improved from the one it replaced. The company currently has no borrowings outstanding on the facility.

“With this new credit facility, AMN has obtained greater borrowing capacity at lower interest rates, with extended maturity and improved flexibility under covenants. This larger facility reflects the strength of the company and is important in supporting AMN’s long-term growth strategy,” said Brian M. Scott, CFO of AMN Healthcare.

Reuters reported that Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank and UBS are leading the debt financing to support EG Groups’ acquisition of the Kroger Grocery chain’s convenience store unit.

The financing will be made up of $1.9 billion of term loans. The majority ($500 million) will be denominated of second-lien loans, while $200 million will be denominated in euros, Reuters reported.

OCI priced a proposed $455 million term loan B facility and proposed a $40 million revolving credit facility.

The proposed facility of $455 million is expected to replace and upsize OCIP’s existing $232 million term loan B facility and is expected to be priced at LIBOR + 425 bps, or 250 bps lower than the existing facility, and include a leverage-based stepdown provision. As a result, the transaction is expected to generate material interest savings. The new facility is expected to mature in 2025, in contrast to the existing facility that matures in 2019.

OCI intends to use the expected net proceeds of the term loan to repay in full its existing facility and to repay in full outstanding intercompany loans from OCI N.V. of $200 million.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch served as left lead arranger on the transaction, with Barclays Bank and Crédit Agricole serving as joint lead arrangers. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays Bank and Crédit Agricole are also expected to provide the revolving credit facility priced at LIBOR + 375 bps, with a maturity in 2020

The closing of the term loan B facility and revolving credit facility is expected to occur in March 2018 and is subject to customary closing conditions.

OCI Partners owns and operates an integrated methanol and ammonia production facility that is located on the Texas Gulf Coast near Beaumont, TX.

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, a private investment fund, is acquiring a 60% ownership stake in American Greetings. The Weiss Family, descendants of Jacob Sapirstein, who founded the company in 1906, will retain a 40% stake in the business. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

American Greetings has the No. 1 position by volume in the $6 billion North American greeting card market, with several brands, including American Greetings, Papyrus, Recycled Paper Greetings, Gibson and Carlton Cards. The company currently provides products to more than 60,000 retail stores and maintains a portfolio of 440 patents, more than 2,500 copyrights and 1,000 trademarks.

“American Greetings is a clear market leader with a strong portfolio of valuable brands,” said CD&R Partner Ken Giuriceo. “We are very pleased to partner with the Weiss Family and American Greetings’ talented management team and to be aligned around a set of identified actions to strengthen the company’s competitive positioning and prospects for sustainable, long-term growth and profitability.”

Upon the close of the transaction, John Beeder, current president and COO, will become CEO. Zev Weiss and Jeffrey Weiss, current co-CEOs, and Morry Weiss, current chairman, will remain on the board. David Scheible, an operating advisor to CD&R funds and former chairman and CEO of Graphic Packaging, will assume the role of chairman of American Greetings.

“We believe the deep operating expertise that Clayton, Dubilier & Rice brings to us makes them an ideal strategic partner,” Zev Weiss said.

CD&R obtained committed financing from Barclays, Deutsche Bank Securities, Citizens Bank, ING Capital, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, HSBC Bank USA, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Debevoise & Plimpton served as legal advisor, and Barclays, Deutsche Bank Securities, Citizens Capital Markets, ING Financial Markets Bank of America Merrill Lynch, HSBC Securities (USA), Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and KeyBanc Capital Markets served as financial advisors to CD&R in the transaction. Jones Day served as legal advisor, and Centerview Partners served as financial advisor to American Greetings.

Reuters reported JPMorgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Citigroup are leading a syndicate of more than 20 banks to finance Blackstone Group‘s $13.5 billion loan and bond financing to acquire a majority stake in Thomson Reuters’ Financial and Risk.

According to Reuters, the deal consists of an $8 billion-equivalent term loan B, which is split between $5.5 billion and $2.5 billion-equivalent in euros.

Hanger, a provider of orthotic and prosthetic patient care services and solutions, closed a new $605 million senior credit facility consisting of a $100 million five-year revolving credit facility and a $505 million, seven-year term loan B.

According to a related 8-K filing, Bank of America served as the administrative agent for the transaction, while Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo Securities and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey served as lead arrangers, and Region’s Bank acted as co-manager.

Proceeds of the new term loan B were used by Hanger to fully repay all principal outstanding under both its prior senior credit agreement (totaling $152 million) and its $280 million unsecured term loan B credit agreement. In addition, borrowings under the new term loan B were used to pay the call premium on the unsecured term loan B, related transaction fees, accrued and unpaid interest and expenses, and to fund general corporate uses. The new revolver was undrawn at closing. The new term loan B bears interest at a rate of LIBOR plus 350 basis points.

In connection with the credit facility, Hanger plans to enter into a six-year interest rate swap agreement which will effectively fix the interest rate on an initial balance of approximately $325 million of its floating rate debt under the new term loan B. The notional amount of the interest rate swap is planned to ratably decrease to approximately $263 million over the term of the six-year agreement.

The new term loan B simplifies the company’s capital structure and is expected to result in a favorable reduction to the company’s cost of capital by significantly reducing the effective interest rate on its term indebtedness.

Hanger recently received ratings on the credit facility of B1 and B+ from Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s, respectively.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch amended its loan agreement with Super Micro Computer, a provider of end-to-end green computing solutions for data center, cloud computing, enterprise IT, hadoop/big data, HPC and embedded systems.

The amendment waives the default arising from the company having not yet filed its 2017 annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters that ended September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2017, provided that no additional defaults occur. It also requires the company to refinance its obligations under the loan agreement by April 20, 2018.

Super Micro is in negotiations with Bank of America Merrill Lynch with respect to a new debt facility to refinance its current existing debt obligations. The new debt facility, to be led by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, is expected to also include other lenders and increase the company’s borrowing capacity.

Pinnacle Foods completed the refinancing of its senior secured credit facilities in a significantly oversubscribed transaction. The refinancing consisted of a new $800 million term loan A, a new $1.239 million term loan B and an upsize of the company’s revolving credit facility from $225 million to $300 million.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Barclays Bank acted as lead arrangers for the refinancing, with Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley acting as additional arrangers for the term loan B.

Term loan A will mature in March 2023 with an initial price at LIBOR +162.5 basis points (with 0% LIBOR floor). Term loan B will mature in February 2024 with a pricing at LIBOR +175 basis points (with 0% LIBOR floor) versus the previous term loan B that was priced at LIBOR +200 (with a 0% LIBOR floor). The company used $204 million of cash on hand to pay-down the prior term loan, which had an outstanding balance of $2.239 million immediately prior to the refinancing, and to pay approximately $4 million of fees and expenses associated with the refinancing.

The refinancing strengthens the company’s overall financial profile and will help to offset the anticipated rising interest rate environment in 2018 and beyond.

“We are very pleased with the execution of this refinancing and the continued support that we receive from the banking community,” Pinnacle Executive Vice President and CFO Craig Steeneck said. “Net of the swaps we have put in place, we expect this refinancing to result in cash interest savings of approximately $50 million over the remaining life of the loans. This transaction, which was incorporated in the 2018 guidance we provided earlier this month, further enhances our already strong financial profile and allows us to continue to execute on value-creating opportunities.”

Pinnacle Foods is a manufacturer, marketer and distributor of branded food products with a portfolio that includes brands such as Birds Eye, Duncan Hines, Earth Balance, EVOL, Hungry-Man, Log Cabin, Vlasic and Wish-Bone, among others.

According to Reuters, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and JPMorgan will lead an $8 billion debt refinancing for beauty company Coty.

Reuters added the refinancing would include a $1.25 billion term loan A, a $2.25 billion euro-dominated term loan A, a $1 billion seven-year term loan B and a $1.5 billion euro-denominated seven-year term loan B

Morgan Stanley, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, UniCredit, ING, Mizuho and RBC will also participate in the financing, said Reuters.

Platinum Equity submitted a binding offer to acquire LifeScan from Johnson & Johnson in a transaction valued at approximately $2.1 billion. LifeScan manufactures blood glucose monitoring products with 2017 net revenue of approximately $1.5 billion.

Reuters reported Bank of America Merrill Lynch is providing the entire debt commitment, but will carve out a portion, possibly as high as 60%, to other banks.

“We have great respect for Johnson & Johnson and appreciate their confidence in our ability to execute,” said Platinum Equity Chairman and CEO Tom Gores. “This is an important investment for us in a business that serves millions of patients around the world. We are committed to putting our financial resources and global operating expertise to work in support of the company’s core mission to improve the quality of life for people living with diabetes.”

Headquartered in Chesterbrook, PA and Zug, Switzerland, LifeScan serves approximately 20 million patients globally in more than 90 countries.

“LifeScan has been a leader in diabetes care for more than 30 years and has consistently developed and brought to market industry leading products,” said Platinum Equity Partner Jacob Kotzubei. “We have worked closely with Johnson & Johnson to craft a divestiture solution for LifeScan that would create a global standalone business and set the stage for continued investment in growth and innovation.”

LifeScan President Valerie Asbury is expected to continue leading the business following the change in ownership.

The acceptance period for the offer will end on June 15, 2018, unless extended, and during that time, consultations with relevant works councils are planned. If the offer is accepted, the transaction would be expected to close by the end of 2018, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

Morgan Lewis is serving as legal advisor to Platinum Equity.

Founded in 1995 by Tom Gores, Platinum Equity is a global investment firm with $13 billion of assets under management and a portfolio of more than 30 operating companies that serve customers around the world.

According to Reuters, nine banks, including Citizens Bank, ING and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, among others, are facing losses on a fully underwritten loan and bond financing backing the buyout by a private equity firm of greeting card company American Greetings.

Reuters reported, citing sources, the deal – which includes a term loan, an unsecured bond and a five-year revolver – would be used to purchase a 60% stake in American Greetings by the private equity firm.

Tailored Brands refinanced its existing term loan, upsizing its aggregate principal amount to $900 million. JPMorgan acted as lead arranger, administrative agent and joint book runner on the transaction.

Tailored Brands Chief Financial Officer Jack Calandra said, “We are pleased to have refinanced our term loan and extended its maturity at attractive rates. We continue to execute our strategy to use free cash flow to reduce our debt and improve our financial flexibility.”

Immediately prior to the refinancing, the term loan consisted of $593.4 million in aggregate principal amount with an interest rate of LIBOR + 3.50% and $400 million in aggregate principal amount with a fixed rate of 5.0% per annum. Upon entering into the refinancing, the company made a prepayment of $93.4 million on its term loan using cash on hand.

The new term loan was issued at a price equal to 99.5% of its face value, with an interest rate of LIBOR + 3.50% and a maturity date of April 9, 2025, subject to a springing maturity provision relative to the company’s senior notes.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo Securities acted as joint lead arrangers and joint book runners for the syndicated credit facility.

Tailored Brands is a specialty retailer of men’s tailored clothing and a men’s formalwear provider in the U.S. and Canada.

Compass Diversified Holdings (CODI) signed a credit agreement for a revolving credit facility totaling $600 million and a term loan facility in the amount of $500 million.

The new credit agreement, led by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, TD Securities and U.S. Bank as joint lead arrangers, combines for $1.1 billion in new debt financing and replaces the company’s previous revolving credit facility and term loan facility. According to a related 8-K filing, Bank of America served as administrative agent.

Under the terms of the five-year revolving credit facility, which is subject to borrowing restrictions, amounts borrowed bear interest based on either LIBOR plus a margin ranging from 1.50% to 2.50% or prime plus a margin ranging from 0.50% to 1.50%, as determined by a leverage ratio defined in the credit agreement. Under the terms of the seven-year term loan facility, amounts borrowed bear interest based on either LIBOR plus a margin of 2.25% or 2.50% or prime plus a margin of 1.25% or 1.50%, as determined by such a leverage ratio. The term loan facility requires quarterly payments of $1.25 million, with a final payment of the outstanding principal balance due April 18, 2025.

The company utilized the proceeds from the term debt facility and the notes offering to refinance existing term loan indebtedness and repay revolving loan indebtedness under its previous credit agreement. There are initial borrowings outstanding under the new revolving credit facility of approximately $73 million at closing. The company estimates it has approximately $500 million in net borrowing availability under its new revolver as of the closing date.

The company expects to utilize the future borrowings under the revolving credit facility to fund future expansion opportunities at its existing subsidiary companies, fund acquisitions of new platform acquisition opportunities and provide for working capital and general corporate uses.

Elias Sabo, CODI’s CEO-elect, said, “We are pleased to have completed our recent financings under favorable terms, enabling the company to enhance our financial flexibility, extend our debt maturities and further diversify our capital structure.”

Westport, CT-based CODI owns and manages a diverse family of established North American middle market businesses.