Valeant bonds up on asset sale; most oil issues firmer; Intelsat gains altitude

By Paul Deckelman

New York, June 8 – Canadian drug manufacturer Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.’s bonds moved up on Thursday on news that the underperforming Valeant will sell one of its divisions for close to $1 billion.

The proceeds from the asset sale are expected to be used to pay down some of Valeant’s massive debt burden, estimated north of $28 billion.

Elsewhere, Intelsat SA’s bonds were seen mostly better, with investors having apparently taken in stride the demise of the Luxembourg-based communications satellite company’s planned merger with sector peer OneWeb, which would have brought with it a $1.7 billion investment in Intelsat by OneWeb’s corporate sponsor, Japanese tech giant SoftBank Group.

On the downside, Rite Aid Corp.’s bonds fell amid media speculation that the drugstore chain operator’s planned acquisition by larger rival Walgreen Boots Alliance may not come to fruition due to potential antitrust issues.

Oil and natural gas issues such as California Resources Corp., Chesapeake Energy Corp. and EP Energy Corp. were lower across the board as world crude oil prices remained under pressure for a second straight session, following a surprise report Wednesday of an upturn in U.S. crude stockpiles in the latest reporting period.

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