Primary silent as lull begins; new Mattel notes busy; Fresh Market continues rebound

By Paul Deckelman and Paul A. Harris

New York, Dec. 20 – The high-yield primary market fell silent on Wednesday, with no new U.S. dollar-denominated and fully junk-rated deals heard to have priced on the day – and most syndicate sources and other primaryside players believe that is likely to remain the case for what little is left of 2017.

They said that the only thing stiffing in the new-deal market was a pair of deals expected to get done sometime in January, for media company Meredith Group and eateries operator Arby’s Restaurant Group Inc.

Among the new issues that actually have priced in the last few sessions, secondary market traders said that Tuesday’s offering from oil and natural gas exploration and production company Lonestar Resources US Inc. – now believed to have been the final junk bond pricing of the year – moved up in the aftermarket, though on only light volume.

There was considerably more activity seen in Friday’s new deal from toy manufacturer Mattel Inc., which was largely unchanged on Wednesday after having declined from the highs that it initially hit after pricing.

But Mattel failed to repeat as the busiest issue in Junkbondland after several straight sessions atop the Most Actives list; that honor went to supermarket operator Fresh Market Inc.’s bonds, which firmed smartly for a second straight session on Wednesday, continuing their rebound from Monday’s downturn.

© 2015 Prospect News.
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