Rexel prices add-on; calendar builds with Viasystems, Resolute, AGS; Freedom still firm

By Paul Deckelman and Paul A. Harris

New York, April 16 - The high-yield primary market saw its second fairly boring session in a row on Monday, at least in terms of new deals pricing.

While no new paper was heard to have priced on Friday, Monday's market did see one transaction completed as French electrical products manufacturer Rexel SA did a quickly shopped $100 million add-on to the 2019 notes it sold last month. But, neither the smallish add-on offering nor the larger $400 million original deal was heard trading around.

But while that was going on, there was a fair amount of forward-calendar building. Prospective new deals were announced by oil and gas operator Resolute Energy Corp., electronic components maker Viasystems Group, Inc. and by Nationstar Mortgage LLC. Those companies were seen hitting the road to market their respective bond issues.

High-yield syndicate sources also heard several other deals emerging on investors' radar screens, including junk offerings from industrial manufacturer Milacron LLC, slot-machine maker American Gaming Systems Inc. and Balkan food and drinks producer and retailer Agrokor DD. The latter talked as a benchmark-sized dollar- and euro-denominated two-part affair.

Those deals also were being shopped around to prospective investors via roadshows. None of the new offerings is expected imminently.

Among recently priced deals, gunmaker Freedom Group Inc.'s eight-year secured deal from last week was still trading well above its par issue price. Traders also saw the big add-on deal from satellite communications company Intelsat Jackson Holdings SA gaining altitude.

Away from the new issues, traders saw a mostly boring session, although they noted some activity in familiar names like Sprint Nextel Corp. and Chesapeake Energy Corp.

Statistical performance measures, which had been mixed on Friday, were essentially little -changed on Monday.

Rexel taps 6 1/8% notes

One deal priced on Monday, as the active forward calendar saw meaningful buildup of business, most of which is expected to price before the end of the present week.

France's Rexel priced a $100 million fungible add-on to its 6 1/8% senior notes due Dec. 15, 2019 (Ba2/BB/BB) at 100.75.

The reoffer price, which came at the rich end of the 100.5 to 100.75 price talk, renders a 5.96% yield to worst.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays and RBS were the joint bookrunners for the quick-to-market add-on.

The Paris-based electrical equipment and services company plans to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes including potential future acquisitions.

The original $400 million issue priced at par on March 21, 2012, so Rexel realized 17 basis points of interest savings with Monday's deal.

Resolute starts roadshow

Resolute Energy started a roadshow on Monday for its $250 million offering of eight-year senior notes (B3/B-).

The deal is expected to price on Friday.

Citigroup, BMO and Wells Fargo are the joint bookrunners.

The Denver-based independent oil and gas company plans to use the proceeds to repay debt and for general corporate purposes, including capital expenditures.

Milacron sets Tuesday call

Milacron plans to host an investor call at 12:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday for its $265 million offering off seven-year senior secured notes (expected ratings B1/B+).

The notes will be featured on a roadshow set to run through Friday and will be priced thereafter.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, RBC and Barclays are the joint bookrunners.

The proceeds will be used to finance the acquisition of the company by CCMP Capital.

American Gaming plans notes

American Gaming Systems plans to price a $150 million offering of five-year senior secured notes late in the present week or early in the week ahead via sole bookrunner Credit Suisse.

The proceeds will be used to refinance existing debt and fund the buyout of the Bluberi Gaming Technologies development agreement.

Nationstar starts Tuesday

Nationstar Mortgage and Nationstar Capital Corp. plans to start a roadshow on Tuesday for its $275 million of seven-year senior notes.

The deal is set to price later in the present week.

Credit Suisse, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Citigroup, RBS and Wells Fargo are the joint bookrunners.

The Lewisville, Texas-based mortgage services provider plans to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes, which may include future acquisitions and transfers of servicing portfolios and/or related businesses from third parties.

Viasystems brings $550 million

Viasystems Group will begin a roadshow on Tuesday for its $550 million offering of seven-year senior secured notes.

The deal is set to price late in the present week or early in the week ahead.

Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo and Stifel Nicolaus are the joint bookrunners.

The St. Louis-based company plans to use the proceeds to fund the previously announced acquisition of DDi Corp., and to redeem $220 million of its 12% senior secured notes due 2015.

Agrokor dual-currency deal

Croatia's Agrokor will begin a roadshow on Tuesday in Europe for a benchmark offering of seven-year senior notes in dollar-denominated and euro-denominated tranches.

The European roadshow wraps up Thursday.

A roadshow gets underway in the United States on Friday, and concludes on April 24.

BNP Paribas will bill and deliver for the dollar-denominated tranche. UniCredit SpA will bill and deliver for the euro-denominated tranche.

BNP, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and UniCredit are the joint bookrunners.

The Zagreb, Croatia-based consumer food product company plans to use the proceeds to refinance debt.

Rexel a no-show

Traders said they saw no aftermarket dealings in Rexel's 6 1/8% notes due 2019, including Monday's $100 million add-on or the $400 million of similar notes, fungible with the new paper that priced at par on March 21.

The add-on priced "at probably a bit of a bargain there [100.75] and they sold it to the original guys, who bought it and don't have an interest in flipping them," a trader said.

He said the last market he saw on the old bonds was back on March 30 when they were quoted at 101½ bid, 102 offered. "But I'm sure they're better now," the trader said.

Freedom stands its ground

Among recently priced deals, Freedom Group's 7 7/8% senior secured notes due 2020 were seen by traders still holding on to most of the gains that the Madison, N.C.-based firearms and ammunition producer's $250 million deal notched in the aftermarket after it priced at par on Thursday and then proceeded to move up.

While one trader said that he did not see the bonds trading on Monday - he last saw them Friday, at 102 bid, 102½ offered - a second trader did see some activity in the new bonds in that same 102- to 1021/2-context.

After pricing at par Thursday, the bonds shot up to quoted levels as high as 102½ to 1031/2, before coming down from those peaks on Friday to trade around the 102 bid level.

Intelsat improves

Traders also saw no small amount of activity in the new bonds of Intelsat Jackson Holdings, which also priced on Thursday afternoon.

One said he saw those 7¼% notes due 2020 trading at 102 bid, 102¼ offered.

"It's been trading a lot," he said. "That one has probably been your most active recent issue," the trader said. Some trades were at bid levels around 101 7/8 or 102 3/8, or 102¼ and in that range for most of the day, the trader said.

"It seems to be pretty good buy interest in that and a pretty steady 102 bid out there," the trader said.

Another trader quoted them in the morning at 101¾ to 102 3/8, and then saw them in the afternoon at 102 1/8.

He said that "probably that didn't change them a whole lot," projecting levels somewhere in the range of 101 7/8 to 102 3/8.

Intelsat, a Bermuda-based satellite communications company, priced $1.2 billion of those bonds on Thursday at 10.75, to yield 6.909%.

That quick-to-market offering, enlarged from the originally announced $800 million size, was structured as an add-on to the original $1 billion issue of the bonds that priced at par in September of 2010.

The second trader said the company's "old" bonds were quoted a little higher earlier in the day, pegging them at 102½ to 103.

Parent company Intelsat Ltd.'s 11¼% notes due 2016 saw some brisk trading around 105¾ bid, on volume of more than $5 million.

The company is in the process of tendering for all of its 2016 bonds.

Intelsat Jackson's 7¼% notes due 2020 were quoted by a market source at 102 7/8 bid, on volume of more than $7 million.

Secondary silence

Away from the new deals, a trader said that it was really quiet for the first couple of hours today. And the market did not really rev up after that, the trader said.

"Nothing really jumped out today," he added, tongue-in-cheek. "I can't even make anything up."

A second trader described Monday's market as "pretty boring."

Sprint seen easier

Among specific issues, a trader said that Sprint Nextel's 6.90% notes due 2019 saw some activity today.

He saw the Overland Park, Kansas-based No.3 U.S. wireless provider's paper ending down around three-quarters of a point at 86 3/8 bid, on volume of around $20 million, making the Sprint issue one of the busiest of the day in Junkbondland.

"They had some activity," the trader declared. "That was the one I saw with the most activity - at the top of the charts," he said.

Chesapeake churn continues

Another well-known junk-market name trading around was Oklahoma City, Okla., natural gas producer Chesapeake Energy, whose bonds rose early last week on news that the company monetized some $2.6 billion of assets with plans to use the proceeds to pay down debt.

However, the bonds weakened later in the week on investor angst about the still weak state of natural gas prices.

He saw the company's 6 1/8% notes due 2021 as pretty active.

"They're still under pressure. They traded as high earlier in the day as 96½ bid, but now they've gone out trading at 96," the trader said. He said they were below 96 on Friday.

"The gas companies are under pressure," he added.

Over $12 million of the bonds traded Monday.

ATP is easier

Elsewhere in the energy sector, ATP Oil & Gas Corp.'s 11 7/8% second-lien senior secured notes due 2015 were finishing the day around 70- to 701/2-bid, after having dropped below 70 at one point during the day.

A trader called that pretty much unchanged with about $11 million or $12 million of the company's bonds changing hands.

"That was decent volume," he said, adding that most of the trades were between 70 and 71, but the last trades were around 70½ bid.

Caesars off on the day

A trader saw some activity in Las Vegas casino giant Caesars Entertainment Corp.'s 10% notes due 2018. He saw the trades in a 74- to 741/2-context, which is a couple of points lower, on about $7 million or $8 million of the bonds traded.

Market measures little moved

Statistical measures of junk-market performance were little changed across the board Monday, after having been mixed Friday.

A trader saw the Markit Group CDX North American Series 18 High Yield Index unchanged at 94¾ bid, 95 offered. On Friday, the index plunged massively with market sources estimating the slide as much as 1½ points.

The KDP High Yield Daily Index eased by 2 basis points Monday to end at 73.43. On Friday, the index gained 8 bps. Its yield was unchanged at 6.76%, after falling 5 bps on Friday.

And the widely followed Merrill Lynch High Yield Master II Index notched its third straight session of gains, rising by 0.059%, on top of the 0.08% advance on Friday.

That lifted the index's year-to-date return to 5.004% from Friday's 4.942%, although it remains well below its peak 2012 level of 5.361%, recorded on March 2.

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