FirstEnergy, Interstate Power, Connecticut Light price; thin supply eyed; Swiss Re on road

By Cristal Cody

Tupelo, Miss., March 25 – Utility issuers tapped the high-grade primary market on Monday.

FirstEnergy Transmission, LLC priced an upsized $500 million of 30-year senior notes.

Interstate Power and Light Co. sold $300 million of 10-year green senior debentures.

Connecticut Light and Power Co., doing business as Eversource Energy, priced a $300 million add-on to its 4% first and refunding mortgage bonds due April 1, 2048 on Monday.

Deal volume is expected to be lighter this week with about $20 billion of investment-grade supply forecast, according to market sources.

High-grade issuers priced more than $18 billion of corporate bonds last week, short of market forecasts of about $20 billion to $25 billion of issuance.

Reverse Yankee supply continued on Monday with a €600 million euro-denominated 10-year note offering from Nasdaq Inc.

In other action, Swiss Re Finance (Luxembourg) SA started a two-day roadshow and fixed-income investor calls for a dollar-denominated Rule 144A and Regulation S sale of 30-year notes, a source said.

The roadshow continues through Tuesday in the United States and London.

BofA Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Wells Fargo Securities LLC are the arrangers.

Average typical issuance points to $18 billion of supply this week based on data from 2011 through 2018, according to a BofA Merrill Lynch research report released on Monday.

The Markit CDX North American Investment Grade 32 index eased 2 basis points during the session to a spread of 69 bps.

FirstEnergy prices $500 million

FirstEnergy Transmission priced an upsized $500 million of 4.55% senior notes due April 1, 2049 (Baa2/BBB/BBB-) at a spread of 170 bps over Treasuries on Monday, according to a market source.

Price guidance was in the Treasuries plus 175 bps area, plus or minus 5 bps. The notes were initially talked to print in the Treasuries plus 195 bps area.

The deal was upsized from $400 million.

Citigroup Global Markets, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, TD Securities (USA) LLC and SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc. were the bookrunners.

The company is part of Akron, Ohio-based diversified energy holding company FirstEnergy Corp.

Interstate Power sells notes

Interstate Power and Light priced $300 million of 3.6% 10-year green senior debentures (Baa1/A-/) on Monday at 99.867 to yield 3.616%, according to an FWP filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The bonds priced with a spread of Treasuries plus 120 bps.

Barclays, J.P. Morgan Securities and Mizuho Securities USA Inc. were the bookrunners.

The electric and natural gas subsidiary of Alliant Energy Corp. is based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Eversource taps bonds

Eversource Energy priced an additional $300 million offering of its 4% first and refunding mortgage bonds due April 1, 2048 on Monday at a spread of Treasuries plus 100 bps, according to an FWP filing.

The bonds (A1/AA-/A+) priced at 102.652 to yield 3.846%.

The company originally issued $500 million of the bonds on March 28, 2018 at 99.757 to yield 4.014%, or a 94 bps spread over Treasuries. The total outstanding is now $800 million.

J.P. Morgan Securities, Mizuho Securities MUFG and Wells Fargo Securities were the bookrunners.

The electric subsidiary of Northeast Utilities is based in Berlin, Conn.

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