To lock in demand for the $1.1 billion financing, the lender group raised the coupon and made the paperwork friendlier to investors. Late Wednesday, the spread was fixed at 3.75 percentage points above the US benchmark, a 25-basis-point bump. The syndicate, led by Bank of America Corp., also priced the loan at a discounted 99 cents on the dollar.
Money managers asked for more yield and tighter terms amid questions about long-run appetite for traditional salty snacks as more consumers use GLP-1 weight-loss drugs and reach for protein-rich options, according to people familiar with the talks. With those concerns in the mix, this became the first US leveraged loan in several weeks to see borrowing costs increase during syndication. Investor-friendly documentation changes helped get the deal done, the people said.
Banks have not needed to offer larger concessions to place a deal since CoreWeave Inc.'s $2.6 billion loan in July, a run supported by strong demand for risky corporate debt. Bank of America's representative declined to comment, and a spokesperson for Utz left a comment request unanswered.
According to S&P Global Ratings, Utz has a roughly 4.4% share of the US salty snacks market, making it the No. 3 player. The firm's rating was cut to B- last week, and S&P expects Utz's debt load to climb above nine times a measure of earnings once the acquisition completes. Moody's said the transaction materially increases leverage and weakens the debt profile, assigning a B3 rating to the proposed loan.
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In July, the European snack maker Intersnack agreed to buy 100% of Utz's Class A shares as part of a $2.9 billion take-private. Utz reported second quarter sales of $371.8 million, an increase of 1.4% versus the same period in 2025, with adjusted EBITDA rising 14.4% to $55.7 million, the company said last month.
When investors hesitate, lenders can push up pricing and tighten terms, which can ripple into borrowing costs across the loan market. For the company itself, the balance sheet looks set to carry more weight as the deal closes, even as recent results ticked higher. If you hold loans or credit funds, pricier syndications like this are a real-time read on where compensation for risk may be drifting next.
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