DISH paper declines; Altice’s CSC bonds soften; Rite Aid mixed; Staples heads lower

By Cristal Cody

Tupelo, Miss., Sept. 21 – Distressed paper mostly softened in lighter trading supply on Thursday with the most active issue seen topping out at under $11 million of volume.

DISH Network Corp.’s 7¾% notes due 2026 dropped 1 1/8 points in the day’s most active distressed issue seen in the secondary market, a source said.

Altice USA, Inc. subsidiary CSC Holdings, LLC’s paper declined on Thursday in some of the day’s top distressed movers.

The bonds were down about 1 point to 1½ points on around $17 million of volume.

Stocks slid on Thursday after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged in the prior session.

The CBOE Volatility index shot up 15.85% to 17.54.

The S&P 500 index closed off 1.64%.

The iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF dropped 53 cents, or 0.71%, to $73.87.

In the distressed retail landscape, Rite Aid Corp.’s 8% senior secured notes due 2026 traded up ½ point on Thursday, while its credit default swap spreads moved out more than 1,000 basis points this week.

Rite Aid’s CDS spreads have soared to more than 31,000 bps.

Back in June, the drugstore chain’s CDS spreads were in the 6,000 bps range.

Also, Staples Inc.’s notes were down about ¼ point to ½ point in light trading after the office supplies retailer was downgraded by S&P Global Ratings.

The 10¾% senior notes due 2027 softened ½ point.

Staples’ CDS spreads also widened nearly 175 bps this week.

DISH notes decline

DISH DBS Corp.’s 7¾% senior notes due 2026 (Caa2/B-) dropped 1 1/8 points in the day’s most active distressed issue seen in the secondary market, a source said.

The notes were quoted Thursday with a 76 bid handle on $10.87 million of secondary volume.

The issue was the company’s heaviest traded bond seen during the session.

The Englewood, Colo.-based satellite cable operator’s bonds have been volatile since the company announced plans to merge with EchoStar in August.

CSC notes down

Altice USA subsidiary CSC Holdings’ notes moved lower on Thursday after trading mixed in the prior session, a source said.

CSC’s 7½% senior notes due 2028 (Caa2/CCC+) fell about 1 point to the 67 bid area on $6 million of volume.

The 4 5/8% senior notes due 2030 (Caa2/CCC+) declined 1½ points to 55 bid by the close on about $6 million of trading supply.

Also, CSC’s 5¾% senior notes due 2030 (Caa2/CCC+) shed 1¼ points to head out at 57¼ bid. Volume totaled about $5 million.

The company’s CDS spreads widened 80 bps this week ended Wednesday to 1,676 bps, according to a Moody’s Investors Service report.

Altice is a New York-based broadband communications provider.

Rite Aid notes up

Rite Aid’s 8% senior secured notes due 2026 (Caa3/CCC-/B) traded up ½ point to 61½ bid on Thursday, a market source said.

Meanwhile, Rite Aid’s CDS spreads moved out 1,078 bps over the past week ended Wednesday to 31,352 bps, according to a Moody’s report.

Back in June, the retailer’s CDS spreads were in the 6,000 bps range.

Bankruptcy chatter has surrounded the company over the past few weeks.

Rite Aid is facing an opioid-related complaint announced March 13 from the Department of Justice that the drugstore chain knowingly filled unlawful prescriptions for controlled substances.

The Camp Hill, Pa.-based drugstore chain’s stock (NYSE: RAD) fell 10.2% on Thursday to 63 cents.

Staples lower

Staples’ 10¾% senior notes due 2027 (Caa2/CCC) slipped ½ point to 57½ bid in light trading action on Thursday, a day after a downgrade from S&P, a source said.

Volume hit $1.8 million.

The company’s CDS spreads eased 173 bps over the past week ended Wednesday to 2,729 bps, according to a Moody’s report.

S&P said Wednesday that it downgraded the issuer and the bonds based on weak sales.

The Framingham, Mass.-based office products retail company is owned by private equity firm Sycamore Partners.

Distressed index higher

S&P U.S. High Yield Corporate Distressed Bond index one-day total returns turned positive midweek to a reading of 0.15%, up from minus 0.17% on Tuesday and 0.05% on Monday.

Month-to-date total returns rose to 1.78% on Wednesday from 1.62% on Tuesday but remained down from 1.8% at the start of the week.

Year-to-date distressed total returns were 19.2% on Wednesday, 19.02% on Tuesday and 19.23% on Monday.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.