Herbalife holds investor meetings as refi pressure mounts
- Sasha Padbidri
- +Will Caiger-Smith
Health and wellness company Herbalife has teamed up with bankers at Citi to hold meetings with debt investors, as it takes stock of its options for addressing upcoming maturities, according to 9fin sources.
The meetings began around the time of the JP Morgan leveraged finance conference last month, and the company and its bankers have now met with a fairly large group of investors, the sources said.
The timing and structure of any potential transaction remains fluid, sources noted.
Some investors are waiting for the release of first quarter earnings to get more clarity on the company’s performance — but whatever the exact timing, a refinancing effort is expected at some point in the relatively near future given the company’s maturity profile.
Herbalife has $886.7m of gross term debt coming due in 2025, in addition to $600m of senior notes due 2025. It also has $197m of convertible senior notes due 2024. In light of the company’s recent earnings deterioration (the stock is down 42% this year to date, and pricing of Herbalife’s bonds has also fallen) some debt investors are assessing their position in the capital structure.
“Our view is that the term loan is fully covered, given the way this is positioned,” said a portfolio manager. “The company has to come up with a refinancing solution.”