Intelsat up big on reported merger talks with OneWeb; Valeant up marginally before results

By Colin Hanner

Chicago, Feb. 27 – Activity in the distressed market was all but normal during the last 30 minutes of trading on Monday, traders said, as news broke late about a merger in the making for one distressed company.

Reports of a merger in the communication satellite arena lifted bonds for Intelsat SA across the board, a day before the Luxembourg City-based company is set to announce its fourth quarter earnings.

U.K.-based Sky News broke the possibility of a merger between Intelsat and global communications company, OneWeb LLC, just after 3 p.m. ET.

Softbank Group Corp., a Japanese telecommunications and Internet company, is behind the merger, the report said, which would have a roughly $18 billion value if finalized.

Intelsat bond prices skyrocketed, spiking upwards of 20 points in one issue, a market source said.

“Intelsat was the mover of the day,” a trader said, adding most other companies’ movement paled in comparison.

Also set to announce quarterly figures on Tuesday is Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc., though its most notable issue was up marginally on the day.

Elsewhere, Santa Clara, Calif.-based Avaya Inc., which “started to move higher on Friday’s session,” according to one trader, was up “a little bit higher” in one of its distressed issues.

Franklin, Tenn.-based hospital operator Community Health Systems, Inc., a notable throughout last week’s session, took a backseat to the action yet again on Monday, moving, if at all, up a fraction of a point, a trader said.

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