Heinz Said to Set Rate on $2.1 Billion Portion of Buyout Loans

H.J. Heinz (HNZ) set the rate on a $2.1 billion portion of the $14.1 billion financing backing the ketchup maker’s buyout by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and 3G Capital, according to three people with knowledge of the deal.

The bridge loan will pay interest at 400 basis points more than the London interbank offered rate, said the people who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The lending benchmark will have a floor of one percent, said the people.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co., the banks arranging the financing, were seeking lender commitments by noon today, the people said.

Bridge facilities are short-term loans and are often used as backstops to bond offerings or longer-dated bank debt. Heinz’s bridge will be replaced in about three weeks, the people said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jodi Xu in New York at jxu205@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Faris Khan at fkhan33@bloomberg.net