Morning:
8°c
KKR firm holds crisis loan talks
18 Nov 2008
Private-equity firms are watching intently the fate of Masonite International, a building materials firm taken over by buyout giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts three years ago which may file for bankruptcy unless it can renegotiate loans with its banks.
KKR paid $1.9 billion (£1.3 billion) for the door and fibreboard maker. It is now in talks with a group led by Scotia Capital for a reprieve on payments of at least 30 days in exchange for higher interest payment and fees, insiders told Bloomberg.
Masonite is one of many highly indebted businesses bought in leveraged buyouts during the bull market that now find themselves struggling to meet their debt repayments.
Toronto-based Masonite has about $1.5 billion in outstanding debt.
It also emerged today that chemicals giant Ineos is in talks with its bankers about renegotiating terms on its billions of dollars of loans taken out to fund the takeover in 2005 of BP's chemicals business Innovene.
