High-grade activity soars Wednesday with nine companies pricing, announcing debt deals

By Devika Patel

Knoxville, Tenn., March 6 – The investment-grade bond market stayed extremely busy throughout Wednesday, with seven new deals pricing and two deals announced.

Jefferson, La.-based energy provider Entergy Louisiana LLC issued $525 million of collateral trust mortgage bonds due April 1, 2050, and Denver oil and gas company Cimarex Energy Co. priced $500 million of 10-year 4.375% senior notes.

Luxembourg-based steel producer ArcelorMittal priced $750 million of seven-year 4.55% notes, and Denver-based Public Service Co. of Colorado, an electric and natural gas company, priced $400 million of 4.05% first mortgage bonds due Sept. 15, 2049.

Atlanta airline Delta Air Lines Inc. priced $500 million of 3.204% class AA series 2019-1AA pass-through certificates and 3.404% class A series 2019-1A pass-through certificates, and Omaha-based financing arm of Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Finance Corp. priced a $750 million add-on to its 4.25% senior notes due Jan. 15, 2049.

Charlotte, N.C.-based energy company Duke Energy Corp. priced $600 million of senior notes in two tranches on Wednesday.

Round Rock, Texas-based technology company Dell Technologies Inc. subsidiaries Dell International LLC and EMC Corp. announced plans for a $4 billion Rule 144A private offering of fixed-rate first-lien notes in three parts.

Bethesda, Md.-based lodging company Marriott International Inc. intends to sell floating-rate series BB notes and series CC notes.

Entergy sells $525 million

Entergy Louisiana priced $525 million of 4.2% collateral trust mortgage bonds (A2/A) due April 1, 2050 at a spread of 117 basis points over Treasuries on Wednesday.

The notes priced at 99.293 to yield 4.241%.

BofA Merrill Lynch, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Goldman Sachs & Co., SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc. and Wells Fargo Securities LLC are the bookrunners.

Proceeds will be used to finance the construction of the Lake Charles Power Station and the St. Charles Power Station and for general corporate purposes.

Cimarex prices $500 million

Cimarex Energy sold $500 million of 10-year 4.375% senior notes (Baa3/BBB-) at 99.862 on Wednesday.

The notes have a spread of Treasuries plus 170 bps and will yield 4.392%.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, MUFG, Wells Fargo Securities, BBVA Securities Inc., BMO Capital Markets Corp., PNC Capital Markets LLC, Scotia Capital (USA) Inc. and U.S. Bancorp Investments Inc. were the bookrunners.

Proceeds will be used to repay borrowings under the company’s revolving credit facility and for general corporate purposes.

ArcelorMittal issues notes

ArcelorMittal priced $750 million of seven-year 4.55% notes (Aaa/AAA/AAA) on Wednesday at 99.715.

The notes were sold with a spread of 200 bps over Treasuries to yield 4.598%.

BofA Merrill Lynch, Citigroup Global Markets, Credit Agricole CIB, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Securities, RBC Capital Markets Corp., BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Commerzbank Capital Markets Corp., ING Financial Markets LLC, Santander Investment Securities Inc. were the bookrunners.

Proceeds will be used to repay debt, including the $1 billion outstanding under a $7 billion term facilities agreement.

Public Service sells bonds

Public Service Co. of Colorado priced $400 million of 4.05% first mortgage bonds due Sept. 15, 2049 at a spread of 103 bps over Treasuries on Wednesday.

The notes priced at 99.082 to yield 4.103%.

BMO Capital Markets, BNP Paribas Securities, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Scotia Capital are the bookrunners.

Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.

Delta issues $500 million

Delta priced $500 million of 3.204% class AA series 2019-1AA pass-through certificates and 3.404% class A series 2019-1A pass-through certificates on Wednesday.

The $425 million class AA certificates priced at par with at a spread of 70 bps over Treasuries.

The $75 million class A certificates priced at par with at a spread of 90 bps over Treasuries.

Credit Suisse Securities, Citigroup Global Markets, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Wells Fargo Securities are the lead bookrunners.

BofA Merrill Lynch, Barclays, BNP Paribas Securities, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Securities, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, PNC Capital Markets, SMBC Nikko, Standard Chartered Bank, C.L. King & Associates, Inc. and Siebert Cisneros Shank & Co., LLC are passive bookrunners.

Proceeds will be used to acquire equipment notes.

Berkshire Hathaway taps notes

Berkshire Hathaway Finance sold a $750 million add-on to its 4.25% senior notes due Jan. 15, 2049 on Wednesday.

The company previously sold $1.25 billion of the notes in a sale that priced on Jan. 3 and settled on Jan. 11. These notes priced at 98.978 to yield 4.311% with a spread of Treasuries plus 140 bps.

Berkshire Hathaway priced the new notes at 100.513 to yield 4.219%, or 115 bps over Treasuries. The notes have a make-whole call at Treasuries plus 25 bps until July 1, 2025, and then are callable at par.

The notes will be guaranteed by parent company Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

BofA Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Securities and Wells Fargo Securities were the bookrunners.

Proceeds will be used to refinance the company’s $1.25 billion of 1.7% notes due 2019 and its $500 million of floating-rate senior notes due 2019.

Duke prices $600 million

Duke Energy will conduct a dollar-denominated sale of senior notes due 2022 in two tranches.

The $300 million tranche of three-year floating-rate notes priced at Libor plus 65 bps. These notes priced at par.

Duke Energy sold $300 million of three-year 3.227% notes at a spread of Treasuries plus 73 bps. These notes priced at par.

J.P. Morgan Securities and Scotia Capital are the bookrunners.

Proceeds will be used to repay commercial paper and for general corporate purposes.

Dell units plans $4 billion

Dell subsidiaries Dell International and EMC will conduct a $4 billion Rule 144A private offering of fixed-rate first-lien notes in three tranches.

The co-issuers will sell notes due July 15, 2024, Oct. 1, 2026 and Oct. 1, 2029.

The 2024 notes are being talked in the Treasuries plus 187.5 bps area. The 2026 notes are being talked in the Treasuries plus 250 to 262.5 bps area. The 2029 notes are being talked in the Treasuries plus 287.5 bps area.

The notes have a change-of-control put at 101. They feature make-whole calls until one month prior to maturity for the 2024 notes, two months prior to maturity for the 2026 notes and three months prior to maturity for the 2029 notes, and then par calls.

Barclays, BofA Merrill Lynch, Citigroup Global Markets, Credit Suisse Securities, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan Securities are the bookrunners.

The notes will be guaranteed by the parent.

Settlement is expected March 20.

Proceeds will be used to redeem or repay all of the co-issuers’ outstanding 3.48% first-lien notes due 2019, with any remaining proceeds to repay borrowings under the company’s term loan A-5 facility which matures in 2019.

Marriott plans two note series

Marriott plans to price an offering of floating-rate series BB notes and series CC notes.

The series CC notes feature a make-whole call and then a par call. The floaters are non-callable.

Wells Fargo Securities, Goldman Sachs, BofA Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank Securities and J.P. Morgan Securities are the bookrunners.

Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.

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