(Bloomberg) -- One of the largest creditors of Ronald Perelman’s Vericast Corp. has submitted a $2.85 billion bid to acquire the company.  

Chatham Asset Management sent a letter indicating interest in purchasing the marketing firm formerly known as Harland Clarke Holdings Corp. from Perelman’s holding company MacAndrews & Forbes for a price equivalent to Vericast’s debt load, according to a copy of the letter seen by Bloomberg. 

The New Jersey-based credit investment firm owns nearly half of Vericast’s debt, including a majority of the company’s 11% first-lien senior secured notes due 2026 and nearly all of its 13% second-lien senior secured notes due 2027, according to the letter. Chatham also has a position in the company’s term loan due 2026. 

A representative for Chatham declined to comment. Vericast and MacAndrews & Forbes didn’t immediately comment.

To help fund the transaction, Chatham said it would subordinate some of its own debt holdings into lower-ranking notes or equity, cutting the company’s net leverage by up to two times. If a deal went through, it would also seek to refinance Vericast’s debt “at more favorable rates,” lowering the company’s interest payments by $100 million to $150 million annually. 

Read More: Perelman’s Vericast Plans Bond Sale to Rework Debt Load

Vericast, based in San Antonio, Texas, has businesses focused on marketing, coupons and checks. It’s led by Chief Executive Officer John O’Malley. 

The company has had brushes with distress as it struggled to tame its debt load. Vericast’s more than $1 billion term loan is quoted around 70 cents on the dollar, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Chatham has played significant roles in past deals that helped Vericast rework its obligations, and the company has also shed assets to help cut its borrowings.

Chatham says it’s ready to conduct due diligence, negotiate with Vericast and enter into binding agreements including financing commitments “in a prompt and expeditious manner” and is “prepared to devote considerable resources” to the potential deal. 

Chatham has “significant investments” in a number of other media and marketing companies, including R.R. Donnelley & Sons, McClatchy, Postmedia, and Accelerate360, according to the letter. The firm is also active in restructuring situations, sometimes leading negotiations and taking equity stakes in the reorganized companies.  

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