A fee (expressed in percentage terms) paid on the available but undrawn portion of a committed (or underwritten) facility, to compensate the underwriter for commitments provided over a longer period of time.
It is a common construct in the Broadly Syndicated Loan market, particularly when there is a long period between the signing and the closing of an M&A transaction. The ticking fees can start kicking anytime from 30 to 90 days from the signing date, and can start from as little as 25% of the Term Loan margin, stepping up ratably to 50%, 75% and 100% of margin the longer the period of time goes on.
See also: Underwritten Financing