Volcano jumps on Philips takeout; MGM Resorts trades with lower shares; Energy XXI bounces

By Rebecca Melvin

New York, Dec. 17 – Convertibles players were mostly focused on Volcano Corp. on Wednesday, which was the centerpiece of trade after news the San Diego-based medical-device maker has agreed to be bought by Royal Philips of the Netherlands for $18.00 per share, or $1 billion in equity. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter.

The Volcano bonds immediately shot up to just under par after the news from the upper 80s previously.

Energy names were also in focus as oil prices rose and energy stocks rallied.

Cobalt International Energy Inc. and Energy XXI Ltd. were mentioned as names that were trading. Energy XXI traded actively and off its lows as its shares surged 63 cents, or 24%, to $3.23.

Despite the surge, the stock and bonds of the Hamilton, Bermuda-based independent oil and natural gas E&P company remain well below where they were trading before a plunge in the second half of November. This is also the case with other energy companies.

The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 6 cents, or 0.1%, to $57.22 per barrel.

Otherwise MGM Resorts International’s convertibles were active as sharply lower shares of the Las Vega-based casino operator pulled the convertibles into trade. The MGM 4.25% convertibles due 2015 were down more than 4 points on an outright basis at 105.28, according to Trace data.

There was still overall weakness but not as pronounced as on Tuesday.

© 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.