AT&T, Huntington Bank, Protective Life, Willis Lease tap primary; AstraZeneca notes improve

By Cristal Cody

Tupelo, Miss., Aug. 16 – AT&T Inc. led high-grade deal volume on Thursday with a $3.75 billion offering of floating-rate notes.

Huntington National Bank also tapped the primary market with a $750 million issue of five-year senior notes.

Protective Life Corp. sold $400 million of 10-year senior notes.

In addition, Willis Lease Finance Corp. subsidiary Willis Engine Structured Trust IV priced $373.4 million of high-graded-rated notes in two tranches.

High-grade issuers have priced more than $29 billion of bonds over the past four sessions, coming in on the wide range of syndicate forecasts of about $25 billion to $30 billion of supply for the week.

“With 9.0 [basis points] of average new issue concession coupled with a strong 5.6 bps of average break performance, the overall net performance of new issues this week is at a healthy [plus] 3.4 bps,” according to a BofA Merrill Lynch research report released on Thursday. “The recent new issues are trading 3.4 bps tighter on average from pricing spreads.”

AstraZeneca plc’s 4% notes due Jan. 17, 2029 priced on Tuesday were quoted modestly better in secondary trading on Thursday.

United Technologies Corp.’s senior notes (Baa1/BBB+) priced as part of an $11 billion offering on Monday were unchanged but remain about 4 basis points to 5 bps better than issuance, a source said.

McDonald’s Corp. senior medium-term notes (Baa1/BBB+/) priced in a $1.8 billion three-tranche deal on Monday also were flat on Thursday but headed out about 3 bps tighter than issuance, according to the market source.

The Markit CDX North American Investment Grade 30 index firmed about 1 bp to a spread of 62 bps.

AT&T sells $3.75 billion

AT&T priced $3.75 billion of floating-rate global notes due June 12, 2024 (Baa2/BBB/A-) at par to yield Libor plus 118 bps on Thursday, according to an FWP filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC were the bookrunners.

AT&T is a Dallas-based telecommunications company.

Huntington Bank prices

Huntington National Bank (A3/A-/A-) priced $750 million of 3.55% five-year senior notes at a spread of 85 bps over Treasuries on Thursday, a market source said.

Initial price talk on the notes was in the high 90 bps area.

Citigroup Global Markets, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Huntington Investment Co. were the bookrunners.

Huntington National Bank is part of Columbus, Ohio-based bank holding company Huntington Bancshares Inc.

Protective Life brings deal

Protective Life sold $400 million of 4.3% 10-year senior notes (Baa1/A-/) on Thursday at a spread of 145 bps over Treasuries, according to a market source.

The notes were guided to price in the Treasuries plus 145 bps area, plus or minus 5 bps, and initially talked to print in the Treasuries plus 155 bps to 160 bps area.

BofA Merrill Lynch, Citigroup Global Markets and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC were the bookrunners.

Protective Life is a financial services holding company based in Birmingham, Ala.

Willis sells two tranches

Willis Engine Structured Trust IV priced $373.4 million of fixed-rate asset-backed notes in two tranches in Thursday’s offering, according to the news release.

The trust sold $326.8 million of series A notes (//A) at 99.995 with a 4.75% coupon, an expected maturity of about eight years, an expected weighted average life of 6.3 years and a final maturity of 25 years.

The trust sold $46.7 million of series B notes (//BBB) at 99.998 and a 5.438% coupon. The notes have an expected maturity of about eight years, an expected weighted average life of 6.3 years and a final maturity of 25 years.

The asset-backed notes will be secured by, among other things, Willis Engine Structured Trust IV’s direct and indirect interests in a portfolio of 55 aircraft engines and one airframe.

Willis Lease Finance is a Novato, Calif.-based lessor of commercial jet engines.

AstraZeneca improves

In secondary trading, AstraZeneca’s 4% notes due Jan. 17, 2029 traded on Thursday at 99.875, a market source said.

The company sold $1 billion of the notes (A3/BBB+/A-) on Tuesday as part of a $3 billion four-part offering at 99.59 to yield 4.049%, or a Treasuries plus 115 bps spread.

The biopharmaceutical company is based in Cambridge, England.

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