Martin Marietta, Entergy Louisiana price; Becton, Dickinson markets; AT&T flat; Verizon firms

By Cristal Cody

Tupelo, Miss., May 17 – High-grade bond pricing action slowed on Wednesday compared to the volume-heavy sessions on Monday and Tuesday.

In the day’s biggest deal, the European Investment Bank placed $4.5 billion of notes in two tranches.

In corporate issuance, Martin Marietta Materials Inc. came with a $600 million two-part offering of senior notes.

Entergy Louisiana LLC priced $450 million of long 10-year collateral trust mortgage bonds.

Rochester Gas & Electric Corp. brought $300 million of 10-year first mortgage bonds to the primary market.

AT&T Inc. tapped the Canadian primary market on Wednesday with C$1.35 billion two-part offering of global notes due 2024 and 2047. The deal follows AT&T’s $1.5 billion dollar offering of four-year floating-rate global notes on Tuesday.

Coming up, Becton, Dickinson and Co. plan to hold fixed-income investor calls on Thursday and Friday ahead of a dollar- and euro-denominated senior notes offering.

In the secondary market on Wednesday, AT&T’s 4.25% notes due March 1, 2027 were unchanged.

Verizon Communications Inc.’s 4.125% notes due March 16, 2027 firmed 5 basis points.

The Markit CDX North American Investment Grade index softened more than 3 bps over the day to end at a spread of 65 bps.

European Bank prices

The European Investment Bank (Aaa/AAA/AAA) priced $4.5 billion of notes in two parts on Wednesday, according to a market source.

The bank sold $3 billion of 1.625% global notes due Aug. 14, 2020 at mid-swaps plus 4 bps, or a spread of Treasuries plus 26 bps.

The notes were initially talked at mid-swaps plus 5 bps area.

European Investment Bank priced an upsized $1.5 billion of 2.375% 10-year climate awareness bonds at mid-swaps plus 33 bps, slightly tighter than initial talk of mid-swaps plus 34 bps area. The notes priced with a Treasuries plus 25.3 bps spread. The green bond offering was upsized from an initial $1 billion deal.

Barclays, BofA Merrill Lynch, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Goldman Sachs & Co. were the lead managers.

The European Investment Bank is a lending institution based in Luxembourg.

Martin Marietta sells notes

Martin Marietta Materials priced a $600 million offering of senior notes (Baa3/BBB+/BBB) in two tranches on Wednesday, according to an FWP filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company sold $300 million of three-year floating-rate notes at par to yield Libor plus 65 bps.

And it priced $300 million of 3.45% 10-year fixed-rate notes at 99.798 to yield 3.474% and a spread of Treasuries plus 125 basis points.

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, BB&T Capital Markets, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey Inc. and Wells Fargo Securities LLC were the bookrunners.

Proceeds will be used to refinance at maturity the company’s $300 million of floating-rate notes due June 30, 2017, to repay about $200 million of debt under its revolving credit facility and to repay about $95 million of debt under its trade receivables facility.

The producer of construction aggregates is based in Raleigh, N.C.

Entergy Louisiana bonds

Entergy Louisiana sold $450 million of 3.12% collateral trust mortgage bonds due Sept. 1, 2027 on Wednesday at 99.951 to yield 3.126%, according to an FWP filing with the SEC.

The bonds (A2/A/) priced with a spread of Treasuries plus 90 bps.

BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., Mizuho Securities USA Inc., MUFG and Scotia Capital (USA) Inc. were the bookrunners.

Proceeds will be used to finance the construction of the St. Charles Power Station, to repay at maturity about $45.3 million of the company’s Waterford series collateral trust mortgage notes due July 3, 2017 and for general corporate purposes.

Entergy Louisiana is a Jefferson, La.-based energy provider.

Rochester Gas sells bonds

Rochester Gas & Electric sold $300 million of 3.1% 10-year first mortgage bonds (A1/A-/A) on Wednesday at a spread of 90 bps over Treasuries, according to a market source.

Credit Agricole CIB, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Santander Investment Securities Inc. and TD Securities (USA) LLC were the bookrunners.

Rochester Gas & Electric is a Rochester, N.Y.-based gas and electric provider.

Becton Dickinson plans deal

Becton, Dickinson and Co. (Baa2/BBB+/BBB-) will hold fixed-income investor calls on Thursday and Friday for an offering of dollar- and euro-denominated senior notes, according to a market source.

Barclays, BNP Paribas Securities Corp. and Citigroup are arranging the calls.

Becton Dickinson announced in April that it plans to acquire C.R. Bard Inc. for $24 billion in cash and stock. The deal is expected to close in the fall.

Becton Dickinson is a medical technology company based in Franklin Lakes, N.J.

AT&T unchanged

AT&T’s 4.25% notes due March 1, 2027 were flat on the day at 167 bps bid, according to a market source.

The company priced $2 billion of the notes (Baa1/BBB+/A-) on Jan. 31 at a spread of Treasuries plus 180 bps.

AT&T is a Dallas-based telecommunications company.

Verizon firms

Verizon Communications’ 4.125% notes due March 16, 2027 firmed 5 bps to 147 bps bid in secondary trading on Wednesday, a market source said.

Verizon sold $3.25 billion of the notes (Baa1/BBB+/A-) on March 13 at a spread of Treasuries plus 160 bps.

The telecommunications company is based in New York City.

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