Trico Marine bonds lower; Adelphia bank debt retreats

By Paul Deckelman and Sara Rosenberg

New York, March 16 - Trico Marine Services Inc. bonds were heard to be treading water Tuesday, a day after Moody's Investors Service downgraded the Houma, La.-based marine oil drilling services company's debt ratings.

In the bank debt market, Adelphia Communications Corp.'s paper felt a little weaker, with quotes seen lower by about a quarter to a half a point on the day.

Trico "got slammed a couple of points," a trader said, quoting the company's 8 7/8% notes due 2010 as having fallen to about 54 bid, 56 offered. Trico's Nasdaq traded shares fell 16% to $1.05.

"Their ratings were cut" Monday, a trader said, "but so what?" - an indication that the ratings cut was hardly unexpected and the bonds were already deeply distressed anyway if they were previously trading in the high 50s-60 context.

"I wouldn't even mention the rating," he said. "It was just sellers coming in."

Still, Moody's - which had already downgraded Trico on Jan. 27 - did so again Monday, cutting the 8 7/8% notes to Caa3 from Caa2, while downgrading its senior implied rating to Caa2 from Caa1. It also changed the outlook to negative.

The downgrade, Moody's said, "reflects TMAR's weaker than expected Q4 2003 earnings and substantial deterioration of its credit metrics with no clear catalyst for improvement during 2004."

RCN drops

Also in the bond pits, RCN Corp.'s bonds were being quoted down about 10 points from recent levels, with its 11 1/8% notes due 2007 dropping to 44 bid, its 10 1/8% notes due 2010 at 45 bid and its 9.80% notes due 2008 at 44.5.

The troubled Princeton, N.J. telecommunications company said it had gotten an extension from its creditors to continue restructuring talks for another two weeks, hoping to have a consensual deal in place by March 30. It will also delay filing its reports with the SEC pending the talks' outcome.

Adelphia loans lower

In the bank debt world, Adelphia's Century Communications revolver was quoted at 92 bid, 93 offered. The Old Century debt was quoted on the wide side at 94 bid, 96 offered, with the approximation being that it was levels were really closer to 94.5 bid, 95.5 offered. And, lastly, the New Century paper was quoted at 93.5 bid, 95 offered.

"There was no trading in [Adelphia] whatsoever," a trader said. "It was very quiet [overall]. There was nothing trading in the Street."

In a March 15 filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, the Greenwood Village, Colo.-based cable operator's bondholder committee expressed its desire for the court to deny Adelphia another extension on its exclusivity period and management to consider selling its assets (see report on page one of this issue).

Adelphia has already received four extensions and is seeking its fifth since it filed for bankruptcy on June 25, 2002.

Elsewhere, Calpine Generating Co. LLC's term loans headed lower on Tuesday for no particular reason other than heaviness in the name and heaviness in the overall bank loan market, according to a trader.

The $835 million five-year first lien term loan/note was quoted at 99.75 bid, par offered, compared to Monday's levels of 100.25 bid, 100.5 offered, while the $740 million six-year second lien floating-rate loan/note was quoted at 96 bid, 96.5 offered, compared to Monday's levels of 97 bid, 98 offered, the trader said.

The San Jose, Calif.-based independent power generator's 8 ½% notes due 2011 were meantime quoted at 73 bid, 74 offered, down several points.

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