NII Holdings' opco debt moves up, holdco drifts lower; Clear Channel's recent 10% notes fizzle

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Phoenix, May 21 - A distressed debt trader said trading in NII Holdings Inc. debt was notable Wednesday, as the operating company bonds began to diverge from the holding company notes.

"It seemed like it started yesterday," he said, as the "opco" paper begin to move higher, but the "holdco" debt drifted lower.

As for why the securities have moved apart, the trader said that one could "speculate on a number of things.

"There are several theories on the restructuring talk, so that could be driving it," he said.

The opco 11 3/8% notes due 2019 ended at 84 bid, 85 offered, according to the trader. But the 10% notes due 2016 linked to the holdco slipped to 29, as the 7 5/8% notes due 2021 declined to 261/2.

There hasn't been any fresh news out on the Reston, Va.-based provider of Nextel mobile phone services in Latin America and Mexico since May 12 when earnings were released.

However, the earnings were disappointing.

During the first quarter of 2014, the company lost 52,000 subscribers - a trend that has yet to be stemmed. Net loss widened to $376.1 million and revenue dropped 37.2% to $970.2 million.

Clear Channel fails to excite

Investors have yet to warm to Clear Channel Communications Inc.'s 10% notes due 2018, an $850 million deal that priced in late April.

Priced at par, the issue began slipping as soon as it hit the markets. Though it has been treading in a 95 to 97 range, a trader said the paper fell "another half-point" to close the midweek session around 95.

Clear Channel is a San Antonio-based multimedia company.

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