Jorgensen Co. Unveils Refinancing Deal on Long-Term Debt

Earle M. Jorgensen Co., a distributor of steel and other metals, said Thursday that it has refinanced its long-term debt from a 1990 leveraged buyout.

In the refinancing, the company has obtained a $175-million revolving credit line and has issued $155 million in 10.75% senior notes due by 2000. The company said the transaction will improve its financial flexibility.

The note offering was managed by Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corp. and First Boston Corp.

Kelso & Co., a New York merchant banker, bought Jorgensen for $261 million and merged it with Kilsby-Roberts to form the nation’s largest independent metal distributor.

In December, the Securities and Exchange Commission disciplined Kelso & Co. for misconduct in that buyout.

The SEC ruled that Kelso Chairman Joseph Schuchert failed to disclose an outside business relationship with William Wilson, an outside director of Jorgensen, at the time of the buyout.

One month after the deal, Kelso gave the director a $750,000 consulting deal.