Convertible primary market quiet after active week; MannKind gets Afrezza drug approval

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Phoenix, June 27 – A convertible debt trader said Friday’s activity was muted at best.

“There’s nothing really moving a lot,” he said.

Still, AmSurg Corp.’s newly priced $150 million of 5.25% mandatory convertible preferred stock, series A-1, was holding in well after pricing late Thursday.

A trader quoted the shares at par ½ bid, 101 offered early in the session. Toward the close, the trader pegged the deal at par ¾ bid, 101.25 offered.

The company’s stock, however, was down 44 cents to $45.36.

The convertibles carry an initial conversion premium of 20.5%.

The convertibles were talked to yield 5.25% to 5.75% with an initial conversion premium of 17.5% to 22.5%, according to a syndicate source.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc., SunTrust Robinson Humphrey Inc., Barclays, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Goldman Sachs & Co., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Raymond James & Associates Inc. were the joint bookrunning managers.

MannKind Corp. received approval to market its Afrezza drug, an inhalable insulin medication used to treat adults with the most common form of diabetes.

However, the Food and Drug Administration is also requiring the company to place a warning on the drug’s label. The warnings are due to the instances of acute bronchospasm seen in patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

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