RLPC-Verizon Wireless secures $7.55 bln bridge loan

NEW YORK, June 11 (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley has provided a $7.55 billion 364-day bridge loan to back Verizon Wireless' acquisition of Alltel Corp for $28.1 billion, including $22.2 billion in debt, according to Reuters Loan Pricing Corp.

The 364-day loan matures June 4, 2009, and includes a $4.8 billion drawn portion and a $2.75 billion delayed-draw portion that will be available in three drawings, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

The borrower has already drawn $4.79 billion of the loan to finance the purchase of Alltel's unsecured bridge loans that were incurred when the company underwent its leveraged buyout last year.

Initial pricing on the loan is 75 basis points over the London interbank offered rate, with an 8 basis-point commitment fee on the undrawn portion.

Pricing will eventually flip to a grid that will be tied to the borrower's long-term ratings from Standard & Poor's.

Verizon Wireless, 55 percent owned by Verizon Communications Inc(VZ.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and 45 percent owned by Vodafone Group Plc(VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), said the deal would generate savings of $1 billion in the second year after closing. It said it expects total savings with a net present value of more than $9 billion.

The deal comes about seven months after Alltel was bought by TPG Capital and Goldman Sachs Group Inc's GS Capital Partners for $27.5 billion. That buyout was financed with a $1.5 billion revolver, a $4 billion term loan B-1, a $4.8 billion term loan B-2, a $4 billion term loan B-3, a $750 million delayed-draw term loan and a $7.7 billion bridge loan. (Reporting by Faris Khan)