Cable, broadband names seen better; TECO and Exelon Boston "generate" interest

By Paul Deckelman and Sara Rosenberg

New York, Jan. 22 - Distressed cable and broadband operators Adelphia Communications Corp. and Telewest Communications plc were seen actively traded Thursday, by both bond and bank debt players. And another area which has sparked considerable interest were such energy names as TECO Energy/Panda Energy and Exelon Boston Generating .

Bank debt traders who have watched the latter area said that there seems to be some opposing opinion on the amount of recent activity in TECO Energy/Panda Energy and Exelon Boston Generating bank debt; some see the paper as actively trading while others say that there have only been a few trades in those names over the past few months.

"They're both trading around 65, up about a point on the day. They're trading everyday now. There's a lot of paper," one trader told Prospect News.

According to this trader, the activity level in these names picked up since an auction for both deals took place last Friday in the low 60's.

However, a second trader disagreed, saying that he would not necessarily categorize these names as actively trading.

"There was an auction in TECO [Wednesday]," the trader said. "[But], less than a handful of trades [have taken place] over the last couple of months.

On another front, there was said to be an auction of Adelphia Communications Corp.'s TCI paper on Thursday right around 99, according to a trader, with banks said to be the interested buyers.

The Denver-based cable company's TCI debt was seen trading around 97 last week.

"I'm a little skeptical of that 99 level," a second trader remarked. "97 sounds more right to me."

Adelphia bonds gain

A bond trader meanwhile said that Adelphia's bonds were "up another two or three points." He suggested that one of the investment banks had a luncheon meeting with potential investors, touting Adelphia, which is expected to emerge from Chapter 11 within the next few months, if not sooner.

He saw Adelphia's 9 3/8% notes due 2009 and 10¼% notes due 2011 as having moved up to 101.5 bid, 102.5 offered, while the company's other bonds were not far behind at 98 bid, 99 offered. At another desk, Adelphia's 9 7/8% notes due 2007 were seen up more than a point at 98.25 bid.

Adelphia, the bond trader said "is a workout situation that's coming to a head soon."

He took a similar view of U.K.-based broadband provider Telewest, whose bonds have recently been firming steadily - although with its 11% notes at 71.5 bid, 72 offered and its 11 3/8 notes at 53 bid, 54 offered, both "up another few points" from recent levels, Telewest's workout is nowhere near as far along as Adelphia's, although investors seem to feel that progress is being made.

Elsewhere, Tropical Sportswear International Corp.'s 11% notes, which have recently been bouncing crazily around the 50s, continued to do so Thursday, being quoted at 54 bid; the Tampa-based apparel company's bonds had fallen into the upper 40s a week ago after reporting a loss for the recent quarter, versus a year-earlier profit. They had surged all the way back up to 58 earlier in the week, but were seen by a source having inched back down to the mid 50s.

Parmalat holds

Italian dairy products maker Parmalat's bonds continue to hold in the 25-26 area, including its dollar denominated 6 5/8% notes due 2008; the stricken food producer - pushed into bankruptcy proceedings in Italy by the apparent diversion of as much as €10 billion from its offers - said Thursday that its government-appointed bankruptcy commissioner, Enrico Bondi, has been authorized by the Industry Ministry to take out a banking loan of up to €150 million. The money is supposed to let the core dairy products unit continue operations while Bondi and his advisors put together a reorganization plan.

And some of Parmalat's U.S. creditors, not fully trusting Italy's revised bankruptcy laws to protect their interest, filed a Section 304 motion with the American bankruptcy courts, which could lead to an expanded role in the Parmalat reorganization by the U.S. courts.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.