Apollo's CKE Planning $1B Whole Business Deal

Barclays is preparing a $1 billion whole business securitization for CKE Restaurants, the parent company of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The deal, which is backed by franchise fees and other assets of CKE, could price as soon as Thursday, this person said.

CKE was taken private in a 2010 buyout by Apollo Global Management. It filed to go public last year but pulled the offering.

Whole business securitizations are often used by private equity firms to refinance the debt of highly leveraged portfolio companies. In 2011, fast-food chain operator Church's Chicken, a portfolio company of Friedman Fleischer & Lowe, priced $220 million of bonds backed by franchise fees and store revenue. Barclays was the sole structuring adviser and bookrunning manager.

CKE is company rated B2 by Moody’s Investors Service and B- by Standard & Poor’s. It has around $855 million of long-term rated debt, including a $100 million first-lien senior secured revolving line of credit due in 2015, $532 million of second-lien senior secured notes due in 2018, and $233 million of senior unsecured PIK toggle notes due in 2016, according to Moody’s.