Diamond Sports paper eases off gains; AMC bonds down slightly; Transocean notes lower

By Cristal Cody

Tupelo, Miss., Sept. 27 – Diamond Sports Group LLC’s notes on Tuesday eased off of some of the gains the paper made in the prior week following reports of a potential acquisition.

The distressed sports broadcast group’s 5 3/8% senior secured notes due 2026 (Caa3/CCC+) gave back ¼ point after trading as high as 24 bid in the prior week.

Diamond Sports’ 6 5/8% senior notes due 2027 (Ca/CCC-) fell 5/8 point on the day and were down 1½ points from Friday.

The bonds rallied in the prior week on news reports the company may be acquired by the MLB, NBA and NHL.

Diamond Sports announced Monday that its new Bally Sports+ streaming service launched on Roku.

AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc.’s 10% senior secured second-lien notes due 2026 (Caa3/CCC-) mostly held onto Monday’s 3-point-gain with the issue down ½ point on Tuesday.

Market tone was mostly weaker over the session.

Stock indices were mixed. The S&P 500 index edged down 0.2%, while the Nasdaq closed up 0.25%.

The iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF fell 15 cents, or 0.21%, to $71.13.

Volatility was slightly higher with the CBOE Volatility index up 1.05% at 32.60.

Oil moved higher. West Texas Intermediate crude oil benchmark futures for November deliveries settled up $1.79 to $78.50 a barrel.

Transocean Inc.’s notes remained lower on Tuesday after declining more than 5 points in the prior week as the company nears completing a distressed debt exchange this week.

The offshore driller’s 8% debentures due 2027 (C/CCC-) fell about ½ point from Monday.

Diamond Sports declines

Diamond Sports’ 5 3/8% senior secured notes due 2026 (Caa3/CCC+) gave back ¼ point on Tuesday to head out at 18 bid, a source said.

The issue saw steady trading with more than $6 million of volume reported.

Diamond Sports’ notes were not seen in the secondary market on Monday after closing out Friday at 18¼ bid following trading as high as 24 bid in midweek supply.

The company’s 6 5/8% senior unsecured notes due 2027 (Ca/CCC-) fell 5/8 point from Monday to 6½ bid with about $6 million of overall trading supply seen Tuesday.

The notes were down 1½ points from Friday.

Earlier this year, parent company Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. “deconsolidated” Diamond Sports from its financial statements.

The Chesapeake, Va.-based sports broadcast group completed a distressed debt exchange in March.

AMC notes dip

AMC’s 10% senior secured second-lien notes due 2026 (Caa3/CCC-) dipped ½ point to 75 bid by late afternoon on Tuesday, a source said.

The notes mostly held onto Monday’s 3-point gain after AMC reported plans to offer up to 425 million of its new preferred equity units.

The company’s common stock improved 9.08% to $7.45 after closing Monday down 14.52%.

In August, the Leawood, Kan.-based movie theater owner and gold and silver mine investor paid stockholders a special dividend of one AMC preferred equity unit for each share of AMC class A common stock.

Transocean notes lower

In distressed energy paper, Transocean’s 7½% senior notes due 2031 (C/CCC-) dropped ½ point to 51½ bid on light trading of about $1 million, a source said.

Transocean’s 8% debentures due 2027 (C/CCC-) were trading with a 69 handle by the end of the session, down about ½ point from Monday.

The debentures shed more than 5 points last week.

Transocean, a Steinhausen, Switzerland-based offshore driller, is expected to close Friday on a privately negotiated bond exchange and purchase agreement that provides it with $175 million of liquidity.

Distressed index better

S&P U.S. High Yield Corporate Distressed Bond index one-day returns improved at the start of the last week of September.

One-day returns on Monday were minus 0.56%, up from minus 1.24% on Friday but down from 0.44% in the same session a week ago.

Month-to-date total returns declined Monday to minus 4.18%, compared to minus 3.65% ahead of the weekend and minus 1.62% in the week-ago session.

Year-to-date total returns totaled minus 24.4% on Monday versus minus 23.97% on Friday and minus 22.38% the same day last week.

© 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.