Mizuho Financial Group has sold a $46 million slice of debt in KKR & Co's mine site trucking company Bis Industries, sources told Street Talk on Thursday night.
The buyer is understood to be specialist loan fund manager Metrics Credit Partners which acquired the debt at the lofty price of 67¢ in the dollar.
Metrics launched in 2012 and is backed by National Australia Bank. One theory is that Metrics bought the debt to start building a blocking stake to oppose a debt-for-equity swap.
The heavily indebted Bis kicked off talks with its lending group back in August, telling them all about the company's tough operating environment and expressing its willingness – or need – to do something about its capital structure.
The lenders, who are collectively owed $1 billion, quickly returned fire by appointing PPB Advisory and Fort Street Advisers to at least give the impression there would be no haircuts without a fight. [Also around the situation are a KordaMentha, Moelis and Gilbert + Tobin, acting for KKR, the equity owner].
While the bulk of the debt is not due until December 2018, as revealed by Street Talk in October, Bis advisers and lenders have been wrangling over a smaller tranche of debt which is due to be refinanced by December this year.
Sources said the tranche in question is held by a handful of parties, including Aozora Bank, Taiwan Business Bank, JPMorgan and.Bain Capital Credit (formerly known as Sankaty Advisors).
One option under serious consideration is extending the debt due in December out to 2018 and in return, upgrading it one notch to "super senior", putting it ahead of the 20-odd banks who signed up to the $1 billion deal last year.
