Morning Commentary: NextEra Energy offers bonds; light supply eyed; Vinci, AXA in pipeline

By Cristal Cody

Tupelo, Miss., April 1 – NextEra Energy Capital Holdings, Inc. is returning to the high-grade primary market to price its fifth bond deal of the year.

NextEra is offering 60-year junior subordinated fixed-to-floating-rate debentures.

The company priced $2.7 billion of debentures in four tranches on Thursday. The company placed $150 million of 18-month floating-rate debentures on March 22, priced $400 million of three-year debentures on March 1 and priced $800 million of debentures in two tranches on Feb. 22.

Overall deal volume is mostly expected to be lighter this week, according to market sources.

Investment-grade supply is forecast in the $20 billion area for the first week of the second quarter, with some market sources predicting as little as $10 billion of issuance.

April is projected to post about $80 billion to $100 billion of total volume.

“We think the upside surprise in last April's volume – specifically DM Yankees and financials – is unlikely to repeat this year given a strong EUR primary market and a new trend of U.S. banks delaying post-earning issuance,” according to a BofA Merrill Lynch note released on Monday. “In addition, the M&A pipeline with high-grade funding implications remains modest, and we have not detected clear signs of acceleration in refinancing activities so far this year.”

In other action on Monday, two companies will kick off fixed income investor calls for new issues.

Vinci SA (A3/A-), a Paris-based construction company, will hold investor calls for a debut Rule 144A and Regulation S offering of dollar-denominated notes, a source said.

HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC are the bookrunners.

AXA Equitable Holdings, Inc. (Baa2/BBB+/) will conduct investor calls during the session for a Rule 144A offering of dollar-denominated 10- and 30-year senior notes, according to a market source.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC are the bookrunners.

AXA Equitable Holdings is a New York-based insurance holding company and subsidiary of Paris-based AXA SA.

© 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.