L Brands, Toll drive by; Rite Aid jumps on Walgreens buyout news; Valeant bonds turn mixed

By Paul Deckelman and Paul A. Harris

New York, Oct. 27 – After several sessions during which the well-publicized troubles of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. were the major focus in the high-yield market, things seemed to be getting back to a more normalized footing on Tuesday.

There was still busy trading in Valeant’s bonds but no fresh news out on the company, and traders reported the paper mixed on the day.

The primary arena saw a big deal get done. Retailer L Brands, Inc. priced a quickly shopped and massively upsized $1 billion issue of 20-year notes – a rarely seen tenor in Junkbondland. The new notes moved up in initial aftermarket dealings.

Homebuilder Toll Brothers, Inc.’s pricing of a quick-to-market $350 million issue of 10-year notes during the session via a financing subsidiary also generated some interest, although participants noted that the split-rated issue came off the investment-grade desks. Junk traders were quoting them above their issue price late in the day.

Away from the new deals, traders noted a surge in Rite Aid Corp.’s bonds propelled by the news that Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., the biggest drugstore operator in the United States, has agreed to buy No. 3 druggist Rite Aid in a $17.2 billion transaction, including debt.

On the earnings front, T-Mobile USA Inc.’s paper fell after the wireless carrier’s third-quarter results failed to live up to analysts’ estimates.

© 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.