Home Depot, UniCredit, IBM, WestRock, ConEd, NWB price; Dow Chemical on investor calls

By Cristal Cody

Tupelo, Miss., Nov. 27 – Investment-grade issuers priced more than $11 billion of bonds over Tuesday’s session.

Home Depot Inc. sold $3.5 billion of senior notes in four tranches.

Italian banking and financial services company UniCredit SpA placed $3 billion of five-year senior notes.

IBM Credit LLC sold $2 billion of senior notes in three tranches.

WestRock Co. subsidiary WRKCo Inc. priced $1.5 billion of senior notes in two parts.

Consolidated Edison Co. of New York, Inc. brought $1.1 billion of debentures in two tranches.

Also, Nederlandse Waterschapsbank NV sold $500 million of four-year senior notes on top of guidance.

In other action on Tuesday, Dow Chemical Co. held fixed income investor calls, a market source said. BofA Merrill Lynch, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Mizuho Securities USA Inc., Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and SMBC Nikko Securities America Inc. were the arrangers.

On Nov. 14, Dow Chemical holding company DowDuPont Inc. priced a $12.7 billion eight-part offering of senior notes (Baa1/A-/BBB+) ahead of a spinoff in 2019 of Dow Chemical and Corteva Inc.

Week to date, more than $15 billion of high-grade bonds have priced, including nearly $4 billion of issues sold on Monday.

About $10 billion to $20 billion of supply was forecast by market sources for the week.

The Markit CDX North American Investment Grade 31 index closed mostly unchanged at a spread of 79 basis points.

In the secondary market, General Motors Co.’s senior notes (Baa3/BBB/BBB) that priced in September remained soft following the company’s announcement on Monday that it will close seven production plants and lay off up to about 14,000 employees, a source said.

General Motors’ 5% notes due Oct. 1, 2028 closed down at 94.02 from where the notes went out on Monday at 95.72.

The bonds traded at 96.43 on Friday.

The Detroit-based automaker sold $750 million of the 10-year notes on Sept. 5 at 99.965 to yield 5.004%, or a spread of 210 bps over Treasuries.

Home Depot prices

Home Depot priced $3.5 billion of senior notes (A2/A) in four tranches on Tuesday, according to an FWP filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A $300 million tranche of floating-rate notes due March 1, 2022 priced at par to yield Libor plus 31 bps.

Home Depot placed $700 million of 3.25% long three-year fixed-rate notes at 99.726 to yield 3.341% and a spread of Treasuries plus 48 bps.

In a 10-year tranche, $1 billion of 3.9% notes priced at 99.313 to yield 3.984%. The notes priced with a spread of Treasuries plus 93 bps.

The company also sold $1.5 billion of 4.5% 30-year notes at 98.302 to yield 4.605%, or a Treasuries plus 128 bps spread.

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and BofA Merrill Lynch were the bookrunners on all tranches.

Home Depot is an Atlanta-based home improvement retailer.

UniCredit sells $3 billion

UniCredit priced $3 billion of 7.83% five-year senior notes (Baa3/BBB/BBB) in a Rule 144A and Regulation S offering on Tuesday at a spread of 493.6 bps over Treasuries, according to a market source.

Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and UniCredit Capital Markets LLC were the bookrunners.

UniCredit is a banking and financial services company based in Milan, Italy.

IBM Credit prices $2 billion

IBM Credit priced a $2 billion three-part offering of senior notes (A1/A/A) on Tuesday, according to a market source.

The company sold $750 million of two-year floating-rate notes at Libor plus 47 bps and $750 million of 3.45% two-year fixed-rate notes with a spread of Treasuries plus 65 bps.

A $500 million tranche of 3.6% three-year notes priced at a 75 bps over Treasuries spread.

HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., RBC Capital Markets LLC, SMBC Nikko Securities and Wells Fargo Securities LLC were the bookrunners.

The company is a subsidiary of International Business Machines Corp., an information technology and computer company based in Armonk, N.Y.

WRKCo prices $1.5 billion

WRKCo priced $1.5 billion of senior notes (Baa2/BBB) in two tranches on Tuesday tighter than initial guidance, according to a market source.

A $750 million tranche of 4.65% notes due March 15, 2026 priced with a spread of 170 bps over Treasuries. The notes were initially talked to price with a Treasuries plus 175 bps spread.

WestRock sold $750 million of 4.9% notes due March 15, 2029 at a Treasuries plus 185 bps spread, tighter than initial guidance at Treasuries plus 190 bps.

BofA Merrill Lynch, HSBC Securities, Rabo Securities USA, Inc., SMBC Nikko Securities and Wells Fargo were the lead managers.

WestRock is an Atlanta-based paper and packaging manufacturer.

ConEd brings $1.1 billion

Consolidated Edison Co. of New York priced $1.1 billion of debentures (A3/A-/A-) in two parts on the tight side of guidance on Tuesday, according to a market source and an FWP filing.

The company sold $500 million of 4% 10-year debentures at a spread of 95 bps over Treasuries.

A $600 million tranche of 4.6% 30-year bonds priced at 99.615 to yield 4.674%, or a Treasuries plus 135 bps spread.

BofA Merrill Lynch, Mizuho Securities, MUFG, Scotia Capital (USA) Inc., Wells Fargo, CIBC World Markets Corp., KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. and TD Securities (USA) LLC were the bookrunners.

The electric utility is a subsidiary of New York City-based Consolidated Edison, Inc.

NWB prints notes

Nederlandse Waterschapsbank (Aaa/AAA) sold $500 million of 3.125% senior notes due Dec. 5, 2022 in a Rule 144A and Regulation S offering on Tuesday at mid-swaps plus 12 bps, or Treasuries plus 28.9 bps, according to a market source.

The notes priced in line with guidance.

Barclays, HSBC Securities and SEB Securities, Inc. were the lead managers.

The local government funding agency is based in The Hague, the Netherlands.

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