American Express prices $2.35 billion; Northern Trust sells notes; Pacific Gas holds calls

By Cristal Cody

Tupelo, Miss., July 31 – American Express Co. tapped the primary market during Tuesday’s session with $2.35 billion of senior notes in five-year fixed- and floating-rate tranches.

Northern Trust Corp. also sold $500 million of 10-year senior notes.

Also on Tuesday, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (A3/BBB/BBB+) held fixed income investor calls, a market source said. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Mizuho Securities USA LLC, RBC Capital Markets, LLC and SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc. are the arrangers. The San Francisco-based electric and natural gas utility tapped the primary market twice in 2017, with the most recent issuance on Nov. 27 when it sold $2.5 billion of senior notes in three tranches.

In other activity, International Finance Corp. closed Tuesday on its $2 billion offering of 2.875% notes due July 31, 2023 that priced a week ago at 99.525 and a spread of a spread of mid-swaps plus 2 bps, or Treasuries plus 15.25 bps.

The notes were initially talked to print with a spread in the mid-swaps plus 4 bps area with guidance later tightened to the mid-swaps plus 3 bps area.

More than $5 billion of bonds have priced over the first two sessions. Norfolk Southern Corp., Southern California Edison Co. and Ryder System, Inc. were in the primary market on Monday.

Market sources forecast about $15 billion to as much as $25 billion of bond supply for the week.

Deal volume is expected to stay light in August before climbing in September, a source said.

The Markit CDX North American Investment Grade 30 index recovered from Monday’s weakness and firmed about 1 basis point to a spread of 58 bps.

American Express prices

American Express priced $2.35 billion of senior notes (A3/BBB+/A) in two tranches on Tuesday, according to FWP filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company priced $500 million of five-year floating-rate notes at par to yield Libor plus 75 basis points.

American Express sold $1.85 billion of 3.7% five-year fixed-rate notes at a spread of 87.5 bps over Treasuries. The notes priced at 99.896 to yield 3.723%.

Goldman Sachs, BofA Merrill Lynch, Mizuho Securities and Wells Fargo Securities LLC were the bookrunners.

The credit card services company is based in New York.

Northern Trust sells notes

Northern Trust priced $500 million of 3.65% 10-year senior notes (A2/A+/AA-) at 99.875 and a spread of Treasuries plus 70 bps on Tuesday, according to an FWP filing with the SEC.

Barclays, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, UBS Securities LLC and Wells Fargo Securities were the bookrunners.

The financial services company is based in Chicago.

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