The recent recovery in secondary prices provided some stability to the new-issue market last week, enabling loan arrangers to print another slate of deals—including the newly funded $1.53 billion M&A loan for SS&C Technologies—while a few more issuers tested the high-yield market. Pent up demand on the bonds, in particular, was apparent with oversubscribed books on $3.3 billion that marked the most output in seven weeks.

Overall, it was another relatively quiet week for launches with spreads having gapped out over the last month: the average all-in spread is S+551, up from S+451 in February. Arrangers launched six deals last week that collectively totaled $6.4 billion, or $3.7 billion on a net basis. M&A activity accounted for the lion’s share of this week’s volume, at $5.8 billion.

Portfolios in brief: Holds reflect most recent reporting period available

OCSL: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (B1/B-) – LBO

A BofA Securities-led arranger group set price talk of S+500-525 with a 0.50% floor and a 97-97.5 OID on the $1.48 billion first-lien term loan backing Veritas Capital’s planned take-private LBO of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The seven-year loan would include a CSA of a flat 10 bps and six months of 101 soft call protection. Commitments are due by noon ET on Friday, April 1. A $390 million second-lien loan is being placed privately. Veritas has committed to provide up to $1.524 billion of equity, the company disclosed in an SEC filing. The transaction, announced last month, is expected to be completed in the second quarter, subject to requisite regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. The NYSE-listed educational publisher roughly a year ago repaid nearly all of its term loan B due November 2024 (L+625, 1% floor) via the $349 million sale of its consumer book publishing business. Term loan outstandings were reduced to roughly $21 million as of Sept. 30. Holders of the existing first-lien debt include Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp. ($1M).

Investment details provided by Advantage Data.