Iridium launches $1.638B term loan repricing; lender call set for Jan. 12

A Deutsche Bank-led arranger group has launched a repricing of Iridium Communications Inc.'s $1.638 billion covenant-lite term loan B due November 2026, according to sources. A lender call is scheduled for 10 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Jan. 12, and commitments are due at 3 p.m. ET on Thursday, Jan. 14.

Price talk is L+275-300, with a 1% Libor floor, offered at 99.75. That works out to a yield to maturity of roughly 3.86%-4.11%. Lenders are offered six months of 101 soft call protection.

Barclays, Credit Suisse and Wells Fargo are joint bookrunners on the deal. Deutsche Bank is administrative agent.

For reference, existing pricing on the loan is L+375, with a 1% floor. It was originally issued as a $1.45 billion tranche in October 2019 and the company returned in January 2020 with a $200 million add-on to repay unsecured notes.

Existing facility ratings are BB/B1, with a 2 recovery rating from S&P Global Ratings. Corporate ratings are B+/B1 with positive outlooks from both agencies. Iridium Satellite LLC is the borrower.

Iridium provides mobile voice and data communications services through satellite to businesses, the U.S. and foreign governments, non-governmental organizations and consumers worldwide.