Last week Legg Mason was finishing off three deals the group had been marketing since summer.
Fiat S.p.A. led the pack, closing its $20.6 million bullet structured finance deal that garnered final pricing at 240 basis points over Treasurys. The issue is backed by a bond lease to Teksid Aluminum Components with a lease guaranty issued by Fiat.
Sources familiar with the transaction said the structure was particularly interesting because Legg Mason was not lending directly to the issuer.
The notes carry a 10-year maturity with a 9.8-year average life. Sources said funds collected from the transaction would be used to fund the construction of an aluminum components manufacturing facility in Alabama.
Following the Fiat deal is Legg Mason's ADT Ltd./Tyco International Ltd. $24.1 million transaction that circled late August. ADT/Tyco closed its structured-finance deal at 230 basis points over the 10-year Treasury note. A bond lease with ADT Security Services and a lease guaranty issued by Tyco International backed the A-/Baa1-rated notes.
Sources close to the deal indicated that proceeds were to be used to fund development of a call center in Colorado. The notes carry a 20-year final maturity with a 16.2-year average life.
Last was the $41 million Ceridian Corp. deal that debuted in early September. The group was expected to close sometime late last week, sources said.
The notes are structured with a 20-year final maturity and 16.9-year average life. Funds garnered from the deal would be used to finance the sale-leaseback acquisition of Ceridian's corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Minn.
