L Brands up after tender offer ends; PG&E gains as safety inspection finishes

By James McCandless

San Antonio, June 20 – The distressed space spent much of Thursday in a holding pattern with a focus on Tuesday’s targets.

L Brands, Inc.’s notes were seen moving up after the company announced the results of a tender offer for four series of notes.

Sector peer PetSmart, Inc.’s issues declined.

Utilities name PG&E Corp.’s paper saw gains as the company completes a safety inspection on its infrastructure to mitigate wildfire risk.

Meanwhile, in telecom, Digicel Ltd.’s notes finished mixed as it works through a dispute over spectrum use in Antigua and Barbuda.

Frontier Communications Corp., another telecom name, saw its issues improve.

Pay-television name DISH Network Corp.’s paper was on the rise.

As tensions with Iran ramped up and the Federal Reserve signaled a rate cut, Ensco Rowan plc’s and Superior Energy Services, Inc.’s notes jumped up.

Financial services name Deutsche Bank AG’s issues continued to improve.

L Brands up, PetSmart declines

In the retail space, L Brands’ notes were moving upward, traders said.

The 6¾% senior unsecured notes due 2036 picked up 2¼ points to close at 87¼ bid. The 5¼% notes due 2028 added ½ point to close at 90 bid.

On Thursday, the Columbus, Ohio-based retailer announced the results of its tender offer for four series of notes.

As of the early tender date, 5 p.m. ET on June 18, holders had tendered $212,537,000 of the company’s $338,381,000 outstanding 7% notes due 2020, $329.47 million of its $779,841,000 outstanding 6 5/8% notes due 2021, $299,403,000 of its $956.16 million outstanding 5 5/8% notes due 2022 and $102,823,000 of its $500 million outstanding 5 5/8% notes due 2023, Prospect News reported.

The tender offers began on June 5.

That same day, the company priced a $500 million issue of ten-year senior notes.

Phoenix-based pet supplies chain PetSmart’s issues declined.

The 8 7/8% senior unsecured notes due 2025 lost 1¼ points to close at 96½ bid. The 5 7/8% notes due 2025 slipped ¼ point to close at 96½ bid.

The company has seen a sustained rise in its structure as it prepared and enacted an initial public offering for e-commerce segment Chewy.com.

PG&E gains

Elsewhere, in utilities, PG&E’s paper saw gains, market sources said.

The 4% senior unsecured notes due 2046 tacked on 2¾ points to close at 90¼ bid. The 3¾% notes due 2042 improved by 1¼ points to close at 89 bid.

After the close on Wednesday, the San Francisco-based bankrupt electric utility announced that it had completed visual inspections of the majority of its distribution network.

The procedure was a precautionary measure intended to further mitigate the risk of wildfires.

The company filed for bankruptcy in January 2019 after wildfires exposed it to outsized liability charges.

Digicel mixed, Frontier improves

Meanwhile, in telecom, Digicel’s notes finished mixed, traders said.

The 6% senior unsecured notes due 2021 shifted up ¼ point to close at 81¼ bid. The 6¾% notes due 2023 shaved off ¼ point to close at 61¾ bid.

The Kingston, Jamaica-based mobile phone network provider is embroiled in a dispute over spectrum use with the government of Antigua and Barbuda.

The company went to court in May to gain an order banning confiscation of spectrum for use by the state-owned telecom.

“It’s not very clear cut because not many people are experts here,” a trader said.

Prime Minister Gaston Browne has said that he has made a buyout offer for the company’s assets in the country.

Norwalk, Conn.-based wireline name Frontier’s issues improved.

The 10½% senior unsecured notes due 2022 rose 1 point to close at 69 bid. The 11% notes due 2025 added ¼ point to close at 63 bid.

DISH rises

DISH, another telecom name, saw its paper rise, market sources said.

The 5 7/8% notes due 2024 picked up ¾ point to close at 94½ bid.

The Englewood, Colo.-based pay-television provider is in the running to acquire wireless assets from Sprint and T-Mobile that are worth at least $6 billion.

The move comes as the two companies seek to shed assets in order to meet anti-trust requirements from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Oil jumps

Oil names jumped with futures during the Thursday session as tensions with Iran ramped up and the Federal Reserve signaled a rate cut, traders said.

London-based contract driller Ensco Rowan’s notes pushed upward.

The 5.2% notes due 2025 gained 2¾ points to close at 69¾ bid. The 7¾% notes due 2026 rose 2 points to close at 72½ bid.

Houston-based oilfield services provider Superior Energy’s issues also trended better.

The 7 1/8% notes due 2021 jumped up 4¾ points to close at 70 bid. The 7¾% notes due 2024 picked up 5 points to close at 65½ bid.

Oil futures saw a boost as United States-Iran relations were further strained after Iranian forces shot down a U.S. drone.

Also today, the Federal Reserve signaled that it would cut interest rates if called for to protect the U.S. economy.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for July delivery saw a $2.89 gain to end the session at $56.65 per barrel.

North Sea Brent crude oil futures for August delivery closed at $64.45 per barrel after a $2.63 improvement.

“It feels like we have been stuck on this lower 50’s plateau,” a trader said. “It looks like we might’ve been shaken out of that today.”

Deutsche Bank better

In finance, Deutsche Bank’s paper was seen improving, market sources said.

The 4 7/8% senior subordinated unsecured notes due 2032 added 1 point to close at 85¼ bid.

The Frankfurt-based financial services provider has been marred by negative headlines in recent days after news broke that it was under investigation for alleged money laundering by U.S. authorities.

The company has already faced a similar probe by European regulators.

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