MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONSEcolab Inc., St. Paul, acquired Econ Indstria e Comrcio de Produtos de Higiene e Limpeza Ltda., a Sao Paulo, Brazil-based provider of cleaning and sanitizing products and services to the Brazilian food service industry. The business operations will be integrated with Ecolab's existing Brazil Institutional business.

DEBT AND EQUITIESG&K Services Inc., Minnetonka, announced the refinancing of its unsecured revolving credit facility. The new five-year, $250 million revolving credit facility replaces the company's existing revolving credit facility, which had borrowings of $30 million and was scheduled to expire July 1. The new credit facility, provided by a syndicate of financial institutions and arranged by J.P. Morgan, Wells Fargo and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, will mature on March 7, 2017 and bears interest of from 1 percent to 2 percent above LIBOR, depending on the company's leverage ratio. The revolving credit facility can be expanded by $150 million, to a total of $400 million. The company maintains significant liquidity with nearly $230 million of debt capacity available under its credit facilities.

Golden Valley-based Allianz Life Insurance Co. of North America said that Moody's Investors Service recently affirmed the company's financial security rating at A2 with a stable outlook. A2 is the sixth-highest of 21 possible ratings. Moody's based its rating on Allianz Life's leadership position in fixed index annuities, recent sales success, a broad distribution system, an improved capital position and the company's investment portfolio.