Junk market opens September lower; energy names off as oil slides; big Frontier deal ahead

By Paul Deckelman and Paul A. Harris

New York, Sept. 1– September opened up in Junkbondland on Tuesday quite unlike the way high yield had ended August the day before.

Market sources said that after several sessions in which it held its own, junk had a softer tone, taking its cue from a broad stock market retreat.

Energy names such as California Resources Corp., Halcon Resources Corp. and SandRidge Energy Inc., which had been helped by the recent strong upturn in crude oil prices, all ended lower on Tuesday as crude fell sharply after three sessions on the rise.

However, W&T Offshore Inc.’s paper was up on news the Houston-based exploration and production company is doing an asset sale, with the proceeds slated for debt paydown and liquidity enhancement.

Away from the energy realm, the primary remained quiet, with no new deals expected to price before the upcoming Labor Day holiday – but sources were talking up the likelihood that Frontier Communications Corp. will be bringing a giant-sized, multi-tranche bond offering once the holiday is past.

Statistical measures of junk market performance started the new month on the downside, moving lower across the board on Tuesday after having been mixed over the previous two sessions and in three sessions out of the prior four. It was the first time the indicators had been lower all around since last Monday, Aug. 24, which had been their fifth consecutive downturn.

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