GM, Philip Morris price tight; Canadian National upsizes; Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Visa tighten

By Aleesia Forni and Cristal Cody

New York, Feb. 18 – General Motors Co., Philip Morris International Inc. and American Honda Finance Corp. hit up Thursday’s primary to price $8.1 billion of new bonds despite a softer market backdrop.

Oil prices closed higher but were off their earlier highs, while stocks snapped a three-day rally to close the session lower as concerns about economic growth weighed on the market.

In the primary, all deals priced during the session were able to bring in pricing from levels set at the guidance stage.

Both General Motors and Philip Morris International sold $2 billion multi-part deals.

General Motors sold tranches of its new two-part split-rated issue between 22.5 basis points to 25 bps inside initial price thoughts, while spreads on tranches of Philip Morris International’s new deal firmed by around 20 bps compared to talk.

Canadian National Railway Co. upsized its deal to $500 million from initial size thoughts of $400 million. The deal’s order book was more than three times oversubscribed, a market source said.

In the secondary market, investment-grade bonds mostly traded stronger.

Morgan Stanley’s 3.875% senior notes due 2026 have improved about 20 bps over the week.

Citigroup Inc.’s 3.7% subordinated notes due 2026 have tightened 14 bps in post-holiday trading.

Visa Inc.’s senior notes (A1/A+) are trading 4 bps better on the week.

The Markit CDX North American Investment Grade index ended the day 1 bp tighter from the previous session at a spread of 117 bps.

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